Encouraged by the success of its MasterPartner initiative for kitchen specialist retailers, Neff is launching a parallel scheme exclusively for independent electrical retailers.

BDC has expanded its delivery service by employing one of the UK's leading carriers, Tuffnells, who specialise in business-to-business deliveries. The partnership with Tuffnells will provide further flexibility for BDC and result in faster delivery times and increased opportunities for next day delivery.

Consumer confidence has fallen to new record lows, according to the latest consumer confidence survey from the market researcher Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

GotYourPriceCheck, the UK's first local SMS price comparison service is going to be launched in mid-December in the South East. It offers shoppers a quick and easy way of finding ‘real time' bargains in any location. 

Freesat, which has recently added Five to its platform, launched its largest advertising campaign to date that  will highlight the satellite TV service's subscription-free high-definition (HD) offer and run across national newspapers, supplements, TV listings publications, commuter press and a wide range of digital media.

EEIBA, the electrical and electronics charity, has secured ten places in the Flora London Marathon 2009 for those wishing to run raising funds for the charity. Now EEIBA wishes to hear from you if you're prepared to persuade your family and friends to sponsor you for this event.

There is plenty of doom and gloom in the public arena at the moment but when you look at the high street most people are going about their business as usual and looking forward to the approaching Christmas - and everything that it brings.

Venus Williams, who has just won the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, added to her collection of titles the Whirlpool 6TH SENSE Player of the Year Award for 2008. 

With 20% of the UK population affected by hayfever and 10% suffering from asthma, keeping the level of dust (and dustmites) to a minimum is a high priority for many customers. At the same time the popularity of bagless cleaners continues to grow since they offer such tangible benefits as saving money on bags and the convenience of never running out of them.

Fisher & Paykel's new gas-on-glass hobs combine the control of a gas hob with the easy-clean benefits of a ceramic surface.

The Optoma Pico is the UK's smallest projector, says the manufacturer. Measuring just 103mm deep, the Pico weighs just 115g and project images up to 1.5m across.

The Pro Steam condenser dryer from AEG-Electrolux not only dries clothes, but also steams them to cut out the need for ironing and also can be used to refresh stale-smelling clothes.

The EVOKE-2S from PURE is its best sounding portable radio yet, says the maker. Evolving from the popular EVOKE-2XT, the new flagship DAB radio incorporates improved mid-range speakers and separate tweeters, driven by PURE Clearsound technology.

Cashing in on the current trend for black kitchen appliances, Morphy Richards has introduced the Latitude Collection which sports a matt black finish with a stainless steel trim.

Having been previewed all over the world, Sony's innovative ‘dancing' Rolly MP3 player has finally come to the UK. Capable of playing music either from its 2GB memory, or wirelessly from audio devices such as mobile phones and PCs, via Bluetooth, the Rolly ‘dances' while it plays music through its 20mm speakers.

JVC's latest range of LCD TVs include an integrated 160GB PVR (Personal Video Recorder) and also sport the Freeview+ badge. The built-in hard disk drive enables users of the HD Ready DE9 Series to record two programmes at once and also to playback during recording.

Panasonic's new flagship projector shows images in 2.35:1 cinemascope - just like the cinema. Featuring a Lens Memory function, the PT-AE3000 enables users to select different screen ratios, including 16:9 and 2.35:1, simply by pressing a button, with no need for an additional anamorphic lens.

IN October 2007, Panasonic announced its ‘eco ideas' strategy which has a variety of environmentally friendly goals, including the reduction of CO2 emissions at all manufacturing sites. The eco-friendly ideas not only help to sustain the environment, but also serve to improve the competitiveness of the company.

London's L'atelier des Chefs, opened in July this year, follows the concept of the Bergerault brothers cookery schools which aim to make cooking accessible and easy. London's L'atelier on Wigmore Street in Marylebone consists of two floors dedicated to cooking, eating and the joys of food. There are two large teaching kitchens and separate dinning areas where the students eat what they've prepared.

While dealing with the problems posed by the current economic crisis, the electrical industry has to continue with its usual agenda of new product developments and improvements to their energy consumption, and keep defending itself from regulatory constraints. Douglas Herbison, AMDEA's Chief Executive, reassesses the situation.

The last year of trading has been tough in almost every sector of the electrical industry, predominantly due to the now infamous credit crunch.  This reduced volume clearly means fewer potential customers for a retail credit agreement or add-on warranty sale, but both products have a strong appeal to consumers when the future is uncertain.

The electrical independent Michael R. Peters has been building its name in Bedford since 1966 when Michael and Mary Peters started their electrical retail business with £1,000. A year later they employed Derek Anderson as a service manager and he is still with the company today. In 1982, Michael Peters took over the neighbouring Tavistock Sound and Vision store.

You only have one chance to make the first impression. However superficial this first impression is, it will either encourage the customer to come into the store and give you an opportunity to sell or it will make them turn on their heel and go somewhere else.

If a week is a long time in politics, then ten years is certainly an age in consumer electronics. It's hard to believe it, but only a decade ago the first MP3 players were just appearing over the horizon (Apple's iPod was still three years away), digital still cameras were a brand new phenomenon, VCRs were still selling in large numbers, and high-definition television for the masses was a distant dream.

With unrivalled heating technology, stylish Italian design, new innovations and up to 10 years guarantee, it's no surprise that De'Longhi is the world leader in portable heating. With a UK market share in portable heating of 23.5%, De'Longhi continue to be at the cutting edge of both technology and design, leading the field and fulfilling the heating needs of a wide consumer base.

The irons market remains fairly static at around £134 million and 5.3 million units, with conventional models taking the bulk of sales, at around £99.7 million and 4.8 million units.

In these tough times people are looking more than ever for good value and service, and independent dealers are best poised to offer both. In all realms from delivery to bench TV repair there are relatively inexpensive devices to facilitate excellent service. I've picked some good ones for review here.