Electronics: TR's most exciting category?
With specialist distributors and suppliers offering an increasingly broad selection of products, the travel-retail electronics category has never been in more robust shape. David Davies speaks to several of the leading players
Travel adapters, MP3 players, headphones, digital cameras, electronic toothbrushes, GPS equipment, laptop accessories, mobile chargers, games units, portable DVD players, digital photo frames, compact speakers… Truly, the electronics category must be one of the most diverse and all-encompassing of all travel-retail product groups.
It is also an area of the market on which an increasing number of suppliers and distributors are now converging. While the likes of Braun, Dufri International and Digital & Wireless Group continue to be fundamental forces in the category, the electronics sector has been enhanced in recent years by the increasingly high-profile likes of Scorpio Distributors and Zero Group.
Cognisant of the fact that travellers’ interests and requirements are subject to continual change, the aforementioned companies and many others have worked to bring an increasingly wide range of products to market. In conjunction with this, many have placed a renewed emphasis on presentation and packaging, in the process making electronics items even more attractive and easily portable.
Moreover, with some traditional categories under increasing pressure, electronics stands to be one of the primary beneficiaries.
The outlook for this category, then, is emphatically positive, and in recognition of this, Frontier decided to catch up with some of the leading players to find out more about their current products, their views regarding electronics’ status in travel-retail, and their predictions for the future.
The overview resulting from these interviews begins with one of the electronics category’s most well-
established and high-profile companies – distributor Dufri International.
Opening up the BeBook
Dufri International’s Laila Lemmer speaks to Frontier shortly after an edition of the TFWA World Exhibition that found the company spotlighting a diverse selection of electronics accessories, encompassing everything from travel chargers and headphones to bags for MP3 players and digital cameras.
“One of our goals during this exhibition was to show our customers the importance of selling electronics accessories,” says Lemmer. “As a result, we had a special [display] wall built at the back of the stand, which received a lot of positive reactions from our customers.”
Alongside the accessories, the new Samsung YP-S2 MP3 player – which features a striking pebble-like design – and the Violight Travel Toothbrush Sanitizer were among other products to enjoy a favourable response in Cannes.
Looking forward, Dufri International is planning to devote considerable energy to a new product called the BeBook during the next six months. A portable device that incorporates e-Paper technology, the BeBook allows users to read digital content anywhere, at any time. Although part of the eBook reader segment, the BeBook is not intended as a replacement for books – instead, the emphasis is on bringing new features to the reading “experience”, including immediate access to thousands of documents and the ability to alter font size and type according to the user’s own requirements.
Impressively, the BeBook offers an internal storage capacity of 512MB – enough to accommodate up to 1,000 books. Other key elements of the specification include a 6-inch reflective screen, an SD card slot, a USB connector, and the ability to read a wide variety of digital document formats, including PDF, MOBI, LIT, EPUB, HTML, DOC, FB2 and TXT. The BeBook is available now and carries a suggested duty-free price of €299.
The new product is in line with Lemmer’s belief that portable items will represent a major growth area during 2009. “When talking about ‘mobile products’, we think the BeBook fits perfectly into this category,” she says. “With regards to other electronics items, most suppliers launch their products at the beginning of the year. The first important exhibition for electronics is in January at the CES in Las Vegas. After this exhibition we will have a better idea where the focus will be on electronics for 2009.”
Beyond that, Lemmer and Dufri expect the electronics category to remain a fundamental part of the travel-retail offer. “Technology has taken a very important role in our lives, and it is hard to image that the interest in electronics will suddenly stop,” she says. “Even with the ‘credit crunch’ in mind, the expectations for electronics are good. It is said that technology has strong staying power in a difficult environment.”
Scorpio Distributors
Another company doing much to shape the travel-retail electronics category is Scorpio Distributors. The UK-based operation has interests in a number of TR categories, and in electronics represents manufacturers including Swiss Travel Products, Gear4 and Power Traveller, alongside its own Travel Easy brand. Collectively, the product range runs the gamut – from power chargers and travel adapters to mini-speakers, electronic games and card readers.
“Electronics is an important category for us, and is growing in importance, particularly in the air,” says Richard Kennedy, group sales director, Scorpio Distributors. “As a result, it is a key part of our overall portfolio.”
The company’s current electronic best-sellers include the black USB Swiss Travel adapter and Gear4 micro-speakers. According to Kennedy, these items correspond perfectly with the requirements of the impulse shopper: “With an ideal impulse price range of around £10-40, we find there is a steady demand for [these products].”
The recently introduced Power Traveller Solar Monkey – a portable charger that operates purely off sunlight and incandescent lighting – is also performing strongly, as is the updated range of Dr Itami’s Brain Games.
Like Dufri International’s Laila Lemmer, Kennedy is not overly alarmed by the possible implications for the electronics category of the current economic situation. “It may slow down a little in the short-term if passenger numbers reduce, but definitely not to a stop,” he says. “For Scorpio, the range of electronics products we offer in travel-retail focuses mainly on travel-related products – power chargers, mini-speakers, travel adapters, handheld games, etc. These are affordable, useful, often impulse-buy items that are likely to remain well within the reach of travellers.”
In the longer-term, Kennedy implies that the key to continued success for Scorpio – and, for that matter, all other suppliers – will be to remain on top of the latest trends. “Electrical products are probably the fastest at becoming out of date, and being replaced by better spec products at lower prices,” he says. “Customers always want the latest version of something when it comes to electrical items – not something from last year or even a few months back. So you have to be constantly up-to-date regarding the latest market trends and developments, and change the offer regularly to keep up with demand.”
Ensuring that staff have a sufficient – and constantly replenished – knowledge base is also integral to making those all-important sales. “Product knowledge is essential,” confirms Kennedy. “Staff must know what they are talking about, especially on the ground with items like cameras, video cameras and computer equipment.”
Retail management
So far, we have concentrated – reasonably enough – on the availability and diversity of electronics products for purchase. Of course, there are other dimensions to the presence of electronics in travel-retail – not least its role in managing and maximising retail sales.
To conclude this overview, Frontier wanted to speak to a supplier of this enabling technology, and who better than Onboard Retail Solutions (previously ClueTrader)? With clients including Etihad, Malaysia, FlyBE and Air Arabia, the company has more than 12 years’ experience in providing electronics POS technology for planning and management systems.
“Onboard Retail Solutions has the most comprehensive set of tools to enable airlines and retail operators to optimise the profitability and revenue of their onboard retailing,” says the company’s sales & marketing director, Dan Hayter. “In addition, Onboard Retail Solutions commits to a process of constant innovation within its solutions to help increase onboard revenue.”
Enabling onboard retailers to deploy promotions that bear comparison with those on the high-street is also an important part of the company’s offer. Looking forward, Hayter predicts a greater emphasis within the travel industry regarding expenses related to weight, space and logistics.
“Add to this the economic downturn and its ramifications on the travel industry, then a dramatic shift must be made in onboard retail,” he believes. “Onboard Retail Solutions believes that zero weight ‘virtual’ products are the answer. Using our technology, airlines and rail companies can offer their customers a whole ream of products, from transportation tickets and mobile phone top-ups through to destination attraction tickets and hotel rooms, and on to all manner of onboard-purchased but home-delivered products – from flowers to bicycles.”
Once again, Hayter is confident that the company is well-placed as this industry-wide step-change draws near. “An obstacle to [‘virtual’ product provision] has been the need for real-time communications to providers of many products and services, such as hotels and car rentals, and here Onboard Retail Solutions is again leading the way with its first online deployment and other innovative ways of buying at 40,000 feet!”
The last word
A category in robust health – that is the overriding impression Frontier is left with at the end of its journey through travel-retail electronics. Whatever your whim or urgent requirement – toothbrush, adapter, MP3 device, portable DVD player, et al – the leading suppliers are ready with a suitable offer and, in the vast majority of cases, an alluring price-point.
Take into account the fact that many retailers are increasingly aware of the major contribution that
electronics can make to overall revenue, and it becomes clear that this category is only destined to grow in prominence with regards to the overall travel-retail mix. In short, 2009 promises to be a very exciting year for electronics.
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
