Diana Ross to play Monster CES concert
Super-Diva Diana Ross is set to perform at the Monster Cable Retailer Awards and Concert at CES 2009 in January. It appears that, even in these tough economic times, there Just “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to Keep Monster from giving the trade a show-stopping Vegas shindig.
Each year, Monster Cable hosts what has become arguably the biggest social event of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, with the Monster Retailer Awards and Concert. Over five thousand CE professionals from around the globe pack the house in anticipation of learning who will be honoured with the coveted Monster Retailer Awards. Winners are chosen in a variety of categories including the top award, the Gold, for “Most Monsterous Retailer of the Year.” A world-class concert follows the ceremony. This year’s event will take place on Friday, January 9, 2009 at the Paris Hotel - and it promises to be a true CES show-stopper!
“It’s very important for us to show our appreciation to our dealers both with our awards and with an unforgettable concert each year at CES,” stated Noel Lee, The Head Monster. “While the word ‘legend’ is often used for entertainers, this year we have someone who unquestionably fits that description, Ms. Diana Ross. Not only did she dominate the music charts for decades, first with the Supremes and then as a solo artist, she is also a genuine movie star who has starred in such hits as The Wiz, Mahogany and, of course, Lady Sings the Blues, for which she received an Academy Award nomination.”
With Motown records, Diana Ross and the Supremes had 12 number one hits (1964-70), including “Baby Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love,” and were one of the most successful pop acts of the decade.
Ms. Ross emerged as a solo artist in the ’70s with hits such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Touch Me in the Morning.” During the 80s, she continued to top the charts with hits including “Endless Love,” “Upside Down” and “Chain Reaction.”
In 2006, she made the jazz charts with her album “Blue.” She recently released “I Love You,” an album of modern standards by the likes of Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Harry Nilsson, and The Beatles.
Previous Monster concerts have featured music greats like Mary J Blige, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Crosby, Stills and Nash and James Brown.
The only bad news? Attendance for the Monster 2009 Dealer Awards and Concert is by invitation only.
www.monstercable.com
LCD manufacturing set to shrink
Manufacturing of LCD TVs reached record highs during 2008, but is set to shrink by over a fifth this year according to analysts at DisplaySearch.
Rapidly dropping panel prices and concerns about the world-wide economy will put a halt to planned expansions in LCD panel production.
“Demand should once again catch up to supply by the middle of 2009, causing panel makers to move forward again with expansion plans, leading to increased TFT LCD equipment spending in 2010,” said DisplaySearch Vice President of Manufacturing Research Charles Annis.
Blu-ray sales to soar at expense of TVs
Sales of standalone Blu-ray players in the five biggest markets in Europe will triple this year to over 1.8 million, according to research firm Futuresource.
But its research also indicates that consumers could choose smaller flatscreens TVs to cut costs. Retailers have had to slash prices of TVs over 42-inches by as much as a quarter in the last year, according to Futuresource. Meanwhile, analysts DisplaySearch report that 52-inch screens sold on the internet in September dropped around a third of their value.
DisplaySearch also predict that sales of standalone Blu-ray players will overtake sale of the PlayStation3 - also capable of playing Blu-ray discs - by 2010.
“Without doubt, we are in the middle of one of the worst economic downturns in living memory but still all market indicators point towards strong growth in Blu-ray Disc player sales for the remainder of 2008 and continuing into 2009,” said the Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotion Group’s chairman, Frank Simonis. “It is an illustration of the format’s appeal that it can withstand the current economic maelstrom and continue to establish itself throughout the European zone.”
Home cinema offers fillip to indies
In fabulous news for independent retailers, market analysts GfK report that home cinema category in the UK remains healthy. That’s despite the total market for consumer electronics having declined in both unit sales and turnover in the last three months.
“This can be partly attributed to the continued growth in volume sales for Flat Panel TVs which are often sold in a package that includes a Home Theatre System,” says GfK.
“However, we should not dismiss the credentials of a market which is now worth £152 million (up 23 per cent) and 638,000 units (up 22 per cent) in the 52 weeks ending July 2008. In addition, the average price has hardly altered in four years (£255 in 2004 against £239 in 2008).”
The report suggests that this relatively high price is down to independent retailers, who have 29 per cent of the home cinema market in the UK. At £451, indie retailers’ average price for home cinema systems is almost double the market average.
GfK also reports that two channel products are also a growing market sector, although they are still worth less than a fifth of the home cinema market. The potential is there - two-channel products had an average price of £326 this year against £221 for more traditional five channel models.
Lucky retailers bag free Paris trip
Two lucky retailers will be flying off for a weekend in Paris soon, with Armour Home footing the bill. They are the winners of the QED 35th anniversary competition, launched within the pages of HCD’s CEDIA Expo edition in June.
The winners are Mike King of AV4Home and Chris Burnett at Audio T Enfield, who each win the star prize - two nights for two people in Paris, staying at the 4-star Radisson Hotel in the Champs-Elysees, with return travel on Eurostar from London.
All finalists were subjected to a ‘mystery’ shop by Charlie Hill Armour’s business development executive.
Says Charlie: “I found AV4Home’s website really easy to use plus they had the back up of having a telephone number if you had any problems. It was so easy to purchase any cable, for example if you wanted 10m of speaker cable terminated with banana plugs then all it took were a few easy choices to get exactly what you wanted. And when I called them their staff were friendly and helpful and happy to answer my questions.
“Audio T Enfield has very helpful & friendly staff that were happy to answer any questions or queries. They had a good display of QED & the QED One range. The store itself is on a busy high street & is easy to find. It offers demonstration facilities and staff were happy to allow anyone to pop down to demo a product and even included evening appointments if required.”
www.armourhome.co.uk
Alphason Designs appoints product director
Alphason Designs has appointed Noel Riley to the newly created position of Product Director, to head-up the company’s four-strong design team. The appointment underlines the company’s continuing commitment to design and innovation.
Noel brings a wealth of global experience to his new role having previously held board roles in various home furnishing and home improvement businesses. Previous companies include Jacuzzi Ltd where, as General Manager and Site Director, he managed four UK manufacturing sites and dealt with the Independent, DIY Multiple and Builders Merchant sectors.
“This is a fantastic challenge,” comments Noel. “The Design team at Alphason is very talented and already a tremendous strength for the business. Not only this, in August, we increased the team in our Hong Kong office.
“These assets will allow me to bring my experience into play by making us quicker to market, more responsive to our customers’ needs and, above all, create more profit opportunities for us and customers alike by driving quality of design.”
Following the recent re-branding of the Alphason business, Noel’s early tasks have been to drive the launch of the Viewsmart programme, as well as the imminent launch of the Conran range of products.
www.alphasondesigns.com
Rock Gods give Monitor Audio top billing
Monitor Audio’s loudspeakers recently entered Rock God status, when some of the biggest names in music put their names to a bespoke pair of Platinum PL300s.
Ozzy Osbourne, Jeff Beck, Slash, Peter Green and many others were all honoured at the Classic Rock awards 2008 at London’s Park Lane hotel, and some of the stars took time out to autograph the distinctive airbrushed Platinum PL300s, donated by Monitor Audio.
The custom-built speakers were autographed by over 20 rock gods including Ronnie Wood (pictured with signed guitar and the PL3000s), Colin Blunstone, Mani, David Coverdale, Bobby Gillespie and Jack Bruce - making them a truly extraordinary and individual piece of rock memorabilia.
The loudspeakers will be auctioned at an upcoming Classic Rock event, with all the proceeds going to children’s charity Childline. Last year, over 500,000 children called the 24-hour helpline that is devoted to helping those in distress or danger.
“The event was incredible and we are especially pleased that some of the evening’s big winners took the time out to help us all try and raise a great deal of money for a very worthwhile charity,” comments Michael Johnson, Marketing Manager at Monitor Audio.
www.monitoraudio.co.uk
Path hits the road
Path Group recently raised retailer spirits with a race day distracted some lucky retailers from the relentless rain and a busy sales period by allowing them to throw some very fast cars around a racetrack.
The aim of the incentive was to improve attachment rates within stores selling IXOS accessories and was a resounding success, with 30 sales assistants taking part.
Said Path’s Manager of Indies and Training, Debbie Simms: “It’s so important to keep the sales staff motivated and trained in the heart of attachment selling and incentives like this generate a healthy dose
of competition between individuals - great news for both the customer who enjoys better service and the retailer who benefits from greater attachment rates.”
Window dress for success!
Alphason Designs has launched a new visual merchandising course to help dealers to maximise their window displays in the run-up to Christmas.
The renowned AV furniture brand has recruited the services of top visual merchandising specialist Sarah Swales - whose former clients include Debenham’s, Timberland and The Body Shop International - to run day-long, highly interactive courses on this key topic.
Specifically created for Alphason, the courses offer retailers all the skills required to improve their visual merchandising - including maximising impact and window dressing - and ultimately enhance their customers’ shopping experience, which should boost sales.
Additional courses with a Christmas angle are being arranged. Courses are free and open to Alphason dealers and non-dealers alike. For further details, contact Alphason’s Maree Houghton: maree.houghton@alphasondesigns.com
The courses will include:
- How to enhance the customer experience
- Unlocking the potential of your store
- Putting the right products in the right place
- Maximise your sales potential
- Visual Merchandising
- Improve your product presentation
High-spend ads for Ultra Thin TVs
Hitachi is supporting its Ultra Thin LCD TV range with a £1. 5m advertising campaign. This coincides with an in-store promotion offering consumers a ‘free’ 250Gb Media Station with every Ultra Thin purchase from authorised retailers before December 31st.
The campaign likens the Ultra Thin range to a Chameleon, a creature with the ability to adapt and fit beautifully into any environment - and will feature on double and single page spreads in national press supplements, design and lifestyle publications. The campaign will be supported by animated online banners featured on key websites, search engine optimisation and digital outdoor advertising in railway stations in London.
The colourful, eye-catching creatives will appear from November through to March 2009.
The Ultra Thin LCD is super-slim, with a 35mm profile, lightweight (the 32inch version weighs 10.9kg) and features 360 degree styling with concealed cables enabling freedom of placement in the home.
The complimentary 250Gb Media Station is a dedicated, design oriented Media Station developed by Hitachi which allows seamless connectivity from DVD players, satellite box, games consoles and digital TV recorders. Not least there is no requirement to place the UT flatscreen close to the TV aerial socket leaving the user to position both the Media Station and the UT wherever they choose.
www.hitachi.co.uk
