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Chris' entry into the AV furniture market was almost coincidental. His background is in the IT industry, including Rank Xerox, where he learned sales skills and the rules of selling. In 2007, he decided to take a professional break to pursue some of his life passions, such as gardening and walking. Unfortunately, in the late part of 2007 it rained a lot, and it was then when the Armour Group invited him to join Alphason Designs.
The AV market
Chris believes that the market has polarised around four poles and three glass shelves and many retailers don't even consider taking advantage of the real opportunities it offers.
"The issues such as the design, aesthetics, functionality and features of AV furniture have never received the consideration they deserve. Therefore there is a lot of scope for improvement for such companies as Alphason. In fact, Alphason is setting the trends. We have five in-house designers and we use other design agencies to bring some real difference and value to this market.
"Soon the three glass shelves will end up next to the BBQ coal on the garage forecourt because the product has become so commoditised. At present, AV furniture are the only pieces of furniture that do not fit with the rest although they should be an integral part of the room décor. Once the consumer has invested a lot of money in a top of the range LCD TV they don't want to see cables hanging off it. They also need a place to store their DVDs and other AV equipment. We are designing new Alphason products around these needs."
The special relationship
For the third year running Alphason has been voted the Best Accessory Company in the Independent Marketing Awards. What are the key elements in Alphason's successful relationship with independents?
"In a nutshell, these are competitive and innovative products, and our customer service. If there is a problem, it is Alphason's problem not the retailer's problem. It is also our scale of capabilities to deliver on time, every time. We are active in the independent sector. By this I mean that we take the time to listen to independents, to find out what they need, that's why we called our roadshow The Listening Campaign. We also ask them what they think about our products and then we go away and change them accordingly. Moreover, our team of designers is focused on providing unique products for the independent sector."
Supporting indies
Alphason Designs is planning a number of initiatives for independents for this autumn.
"We are preparing a number of special training and support initiatives, which will include new products such as brackets, accessories, cables and cleaning materials, not as individual product ranges but as a package. We will launch them under the umbrella of ViewSmart where these products are added to the top of the range furniture in one package to complete the selling proposition. We will be employing very experienced merchandisers to ensure that customer experience in independent stores is as good as in the large multiple outlets.
"We are also considering establishing a retail panel which will help us to establish what the current retailers' priorities are. And, of course, we will be launching the Conran collection in autumn."
Environmental issues
Finally, I ask Chris how the current green agenda is affecting Alphason.
"One of the biggest environmental issues we are dealing with at present is packaging. With our supply and manufacturing partners we are seeking to optimise the amount of packaging used. We're also looking to use recyclable materials."
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