On 8 November in Tottenham Court Road, the London street “renowned for the choice of consumer electronics products, but not for the quality of shopping experience”, Samsung UK and an electrical independent, John Shah of Shasonic Group, made history unveiling their joint retail venture.

Amana, the premium brand of American refrigeration, is offering a free five-year warranty on all its refrigerator models until 31 December 2007.

Retail market analysts are reporting that in October sales slowed to their lowest level for almost a year as rising interest rates and a slowing housing market hit consumer confidence. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed that like-for-like retail sales in the UK rose by 1% in October – the weakest growth since November 2006.

The Confederation of Aerial Industries (CAI) has reported that a year after the inception of the 'CAI plus' scheme 231 companies joined.

The Carbon Trust has launched an Energy Efficiency Loans campaign that urges businesses to apply for an interest-free loan to replace or upgrade existing equipment. In 2006/07 alone, £18million was offered through the scheme to help small businesses realise annual savings of almost £7million and 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Dyson has appointed John Clare as non executive director. Prior to the appointment, John held the position as chief executive officer at DSG International for 13 years.

Having reported the gloomy predictions of this year's Christmas trading, I will tell you now some contradictory news which has just come out from Deloitte, the accountants. They predict that shoppers will spend a record amount of money this Christmas. “The average Briton will spend £706 on gifts, socialising, food and drink this Christmas.

Warrington-based Premium Appliance Brands (PAB) is helping to support local football talent, as they become the sponsors of Cromwell Athletic Junior Football Club's reception team. The team, aged between five and six years old received a new kit courtesy of PAB, so they'll look the part as they train in the academy to become the football stars of the future.

The unveiling of the new De Dietrich showroom and training facility in Basingstoke coincided with the launch of its 2008 collection of appliances.

Liebherr, the German quality refrigeration manufacturer, specialising in high-performance wine storage appliances, used The Wine Show 2007 in London to display new additions to its wide range of wine storage appliances.

Home-tek has expanded its Ainsley Harriott Professional range of kitchen appliances, with the introduction of a low fat fryer. The compact fryer (model AH131) from the celebrity chef's collection is capable of cooking 500g of chips with just 3g of oil being absorbed by the potatoes thanks to a new electronic system which measures the resistance of the oil, says Home-tek.

Lec is hoping to make its mark in the premium sector with its new Quartz refrigeration products. Available in a choice of finishes – Onyx (high gloss black) and Platinum (Stainless Steel) – the collection comprises three A-rated models – a larder refrigerator, frost free freezer and combination fridge freezer.

The compact TRS from Intempo brings affordability to DAB radio, with a price tag of just £39.99. According to the DRDB (Digital Radio Development Bureau), over 20% of UK households are expected to have a DAB set by the end of 2007 presenting a great opportunity for retailers in the run-up to Christmas.

Those that want to do their bit for the environment will welcome the Compressor Eco from Bosch, which offers energy-efficient cleaning. According to the maker, the cleaner has a 1,600W motor which offers the performance of a powerful 2,400W motor, thanks to its compressor fan blades.

TV stand manufacturer Alphason Designs has launched a range of new products aimed at those looking for a lifestyle look to their AV furniture. Media storage units and coffee tables to match the popular Ambri and Aspect ranges of TV support are now available.

The Highway from Pure is the world's first self-install in-car DAB digital radio, says the manufacturer. According to Pure, the new radio, which is powered from the cigarette lighter socket and attached to the windscreen with a supplied flexible mount, is extremely easy to fit, much like a Sat nav system.

Sony has updated its popular Bravia range of TVs with a range of 1080p LCD panels. The X3500/X3000 Series will take over from the X2000 Series as the flagship of the Bravia LCD range.

Roberts’ latest offering is ideal for those that are new to DAB radio, or those wishing to purchase a second set. The sub-£50 Gemini 59 boasts 10 station pre-sets and is available in black or white.

LG is a global leader in consumer electronics, home appliances and mobile communications, employing more than 82,000 people around the world. With global sales of US $38.5 bn in 2006, LG is the world's leading producer of front loading washing machines, DVD players, flat panel TVs and home theatre systems.

In the November edition of IER I wrote about the problems caused by the need to review the existing European Energy Labelling system for domestic appliances, and how the present 'A to G' bands are seen as no longer satisfactory in a world where huge advances in energy efficiency in domestic appliances have been achieved.

Both steam generators and conventional steam irons are putting in good sales performances, with strong rises in value and volume. The total market – the second largest in SDA – is now worth around £133 million on 5.4 million unit sales (GfK, August 2007). Steam generators continue to put in the most impressive rises – up around 19% in value and 35% in volume, with over 300,000 units sold.

The company has worked with a team at Bristol University on the effects of temperature, moisture and pressure on different fabrics. The Advanced Finish iron features a soleplate divided into three areas, all with different functions – turbo boost tip at the top, with a separate steam chamber, for stubborn creases; constant steam in the middle, also with its own steam chamber, for gentle constant flow; press and set section at the heel, which removes the moisture and sets the fabric for a crease-free finish.

Working with a fellow French company, Domena has developed 'ecofibre', a material based on vegetable fibres and replacing 30% of the plastic used in the bodywork and handset of the iron. The result? The world's first steam generator iron to be made partially of renewable and recyclable materials. The packaging will also use only recyclable materials and Domena will donate a proportion from each sale to a French reforestation charity.

The compact ironing system offers a powerful steam performance, 4-bar pressure and steam output of 100g/min. It also offers a key aspect in today's steam generators, a continuous refill system.

The Sensixx B5 features automatic temperature control, while the Sensixx Protect (pictured), has a soleplate cover to protect dark and delicate clothes from the shine-effect that can come from repeated ironing. This works by holding pressure and heat away from delicate fabrics, while maintaining the maximum crease reduction which comes from the iron's 40g of pressurised steam output and 95g steam-shot.

For decades in-store credit was transacted on a paper-based agreement. Completed by hand, the salesman would first have to find a flat surface to rest the document on. Paper agreements had a number of obvious drawbacks. They were slow to complete, were prone to documentation errors and frequently went astray in the post.

As many retailers know, the toughest obstacle to selling breakdown cover is, frequently, the cost of three or five year protection - which, as far as the customer is concerned, is something he or she hasn't budgeted for when buying an electrical appliance. Since the implementation of the Competition Commission's review of the warranty market, a number of initiatives relating to the breakdown product have found their way on to the electrical retailer's shop floor.

Knowledge is power. A well trained shop floor person is at ease in all situations and can add value to both the retailer and the manufacturer,” said John Dixon, brand communications manager at Panasonic UK. Indeed, adding value is what independents’ business is about.

The new Samsung Training Centre in Brentford clearly reflects the ambitions of the Samsung brand. In the state-of-the art facilities which have separate training rooms for consumer electronics, white goods, IT and mobile products, up to 75 people can be trained at the same time although none of the rooms are designed for more than 20 trainees.

It's often easy to think of past eras as “the golden days” and to forget that in reality everything was not actually as rosy as it seemed. But for many retailers of TVs and AV-related equipment, the streets really did seem to be paved with gold in the early half of the 1990s.

At this time of year, and amid (hopefully) the rush and bustle of the build-up to Christmas, in this column we pause to look back and forward. Perhaps the most significant event of 2007 was the switching off, in Whitehaven, Cumbria, of the analogue TV transmissions. In the early hours of 27 October the plug was pulled on BBC2, making way for five digital channels. Eighteen days later the rest of the analogue broadcasts came off, freeing spectrum for another fifteen Freeview channels: the beginning of the end for a TV system which has served us since 1964. In December 2012, it will be gone altogether in mainland UK.