By Richard Stevenson

Freeview is set to change the brand name of its integrated digital recording products to Freeview+. Currently marketed under the name Freeview Playback, the products use built-in hard disc recording linked to the Freeview electronic programming guide to offer one-touch recording, and pause/rewind of live TV.

Amdea has joined forces with Comet to offer customers the Time to Change calculator, which allows consumers to estimate their potential savings if they opt for a high efficiency cooling appliance or washing machine.

The Michael R Peters Group, which has been in business for 42 years, has won the Best Customer Service Award sponsored by retra, at this year's Independent Marketing Awards.

Mystery shopping research conducted by Digital UK has showed that, while the standard of advice in independent stores is generally high, those who are licensed to the ‘digital tick' scheme provide better service to customers enquiring about digital television and switchover than those who are not.

Coolzone, a refrigeration brand launched by Bridisco Group four years ago, has announced a move into cooking appliances, which will be based on ‘contemporary design at an affordable price'.

BSH Home Appliances has appointed Steve Clarke as UK service manager. Steve will be responsible for the field service operation and back office support for the Bosch, Siemens, Neff and Gaggenau brands.  He joins from Electrolux where he was UK service manager for over ten years. 

My grandmother believed that tough times have a good side in the sense that they impose certain financial discipline on people who otherwise would never learn to behave in a financially responsible manner. These lessons often stay with them for life, she said.

This year's CIH conference in Rome was themed after the famous film The Italian Job. The CIH family had serious issues on its hands. The ‘mob' from left are: Stuart Cook (chief executive); Kathryn Portwood (head of marketing); Tracey Harris (white goods buyer); Sarah Lewis (head of finance); and Gary Millar (opportunities development manager). Kneeling is Hugh Watchman (brown goods buyer).

In the setting of a modern urban apartment Philips demonstrated a full range of its products designed to service all customers' needs, from the moment they wake up to Philips Wake-up Light until they nod off in the evening watching the latest movie using the Philips DVD Home Theatre System which features its unique SoundBar. It uses Ambisound technology which produces a multi-channel surround experience without multiple speakers and cables.

The summer showcase of Groupe SEB, the European small appliance manufacturer and owner of Tefal, Rowenta, Krups and Mulinex brands, demonstrated once again the ambitions of the company to remain the leading innovator of the sector.

The new SP6 fire from Dimplex sports a striking black finish and has been designed to meet the demand for a contemporary and decorative focal point in both domestic and commercial settings.

Distributor Lawton has teamed up with US audio brand ION Audio to offer a range of analogue to digital products including a turntable with iPod dock for one-touch vinyl to digital recordings.

Floorcare expert Bissell has introduced a cleaner which is designed to provide the healthiest clean possible. The Healthy Home features a powerful 1,800W multi-cyclonic cleaning system which provides non-stop suction, says Bissell.

Maytag is attempting to encourage its customers to trade up with its new range cooker line-up. Both the 900mm-wide SOV90GRC and the 1000mm-wide SOV100GRC sport a contemporary brushed stainless steel finish with the larger model featuring an eight-function double oven with a 61-litre capacity. It also features six gas burners, including a high performance wok burner and a central burner for use with a fish kettle or griddle pan.

Toshiba's Qosimo F50 and G50 laptops upscale standard-def DVDs to HD and the maker has hinted that this technology could soon be available on its televisions and DVD players.

Philips' latest shaver - the arcitec - boasts three independently flexing heads in an ergonomically designed shaving unit. Designed for the closest shave possible, the new model features a ‘flex and pivot' action to make it easier to shave hard to reach areas, such as the contours of the face.

The Tivoli Audio NetWorks global radio can access AM and FM stations from all over the world via a Wi-Fi or Ethernet broadband connection. The radio comes with five pre-sets, but also enables users to add an unlimited number of Internet stations that are stored to a ‘favourites' list.

Sovereign has expanded its home appliance range with the introduction of seven built-in wine chillers. Ideal for storing canned drinks as well as wine, the chillers all sport a black and stainless finish.

Selling consumer electronics, selling green and playing to inherent business strengths will keep retailers afloat throughout the current tough trading conditions on the UK high street. These were the messages of the annual London Intellect Conference in July.

Bernhard Vocke began to deliver customer service 15 years ago while working for the chemical and oil industries in Latin America. 

All sorts of strange things are discussed in the corridors of power in Brussels. The latest is a recent set of proposals from the French government known as Bonus Malus. This translates liberally as ‘Good versus bad'. The idea is that good behaviour should be rewarded, while bad behaviour should be punished.

The members of retra are renowned for providing high standards of customer service and support. Which is why I am so pleased and proud that our members claimed all the top prizes in a newly launched retail category at this year's Independent Marketing Awards (IMA).

It has been an interesting few years for the personal and portable audio market, with Apple's iconic iPod paving the way for the success of the MP3 player, replacing CD and tape players as the music player of choice. The huge growth experienced in this area has now begun to level out as the market becomes saturated.

As the name suggests, the iPod touch features an innovative touch-screen interface. With a large 3.5in screen, the device can be used not only for audio playback, but also for watching films and music videos downloaded from iTunes. The iPod touch can also be used for wireless web browsing.

According to Roberts, this is the world's first solar-powered radio that comes complete with DAB capability. The built-in rechargeable battery pack is continually charged while the radio is in direct sunlight and once fully changed will last up to 27 hours. The radio can be used out of the sunlight until it needs recharging, either using the solar panel or the mains adaptor.

The ONE Mini is a compact version of the maker's best-selling ONE radio and comes with a budget price tag of just £39.99. Available in black, white or pink, the radio can produce up to 20 hours of playback when used with the optional rechargeable ChargePAK. It's also part of Pure's EcoPlus range and has been endorsed by the Energy Saving Trust.

This iPod dock is also a DAB radio with an integrated CD player. Users can plug in their iPod directly, while a USB port caters for playback with other compatible MP3 players. The sleekly designed dock also has an audio-in port for any other inputs, including headphones.

There are certainly some influential trends out there which are having a positive effect on the food prep and beverage maker sectors.

As every good retailer knows, add-on sales can be highly lucrative, so as ever, it's of paramount importance not to overlook this product area. Here, we concentrate on the burgeoning universal remote control sector, fuelled by significant changes in the way that consumers watch TV and the equipment they require.

One of my customers summed up the present situation well in the shop the other day: ‘If ninety per cent of my income is committed, a 5% overall rise in bills halves my spending power' he said. It's true, isn't it? Our trade is more vulnerable than many to the current downturn.

The sixteenth Independent Marketing Awards, organised annually by Independent Electrical Retailer magazine and co-sponsored by BDC Independents were held at The Boswoth Hall Hotel in Warwickshire on 26 June 2008.  The winners of this year's Awards - companies which the readers of IER - the independent electrical retailers - recognised as having given them the best support by investing in product excellence, advertising communications and training, collected 15 awards in 11 categories. In 2008, for the first time the Awards were only voted by the independent dealers, but honoured the professionalism and the service excellence of the best independent electrical retailers in the UK.