Recently appointed Smeg UK MD Daniel Hadley has introduced his growth-orientated vision to the business. We talk to him about his plans for the company and the role of kitchen studios to capture the entire suite of kitchen appliance sales.

Having joined the business last year, MD of Smeg UK Daniel Hadley succeeded Mike Giddings, who had spent 20 years working for the company.

Hadley brings both  knowledge and passion of working with brands to the business, having worked in FMCG for Unilever and Dyson.

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At Dyson, he led the UK sales team before a move to the Middle East to expand sales across that region, and now he is bringing all his experience, together with a growth orientated vision, to Smeg UK.

We talk to him about his plans for the business, which are operating at pace, consumers’ differing shopping journeys, and the role of kitchen studios to help capture the entire suite of kitchen appliance sales.

Q: How has the first year been as managing director of Smeg UK?

A: It feels like yesterday but also five years all at once. It’s a real privilege to have taken this job.

The products attracted me and the 130 people who work at Smeg UK are really good.

So, we can now set the path for growth.

Q: How is business at the moment?

A: Fortunately, for me, I joined at point where we could drive momentum year-on-year.

We landed high single-digit growth last year, which we’re really proud of, but I’m particularly proud of the fact we got our three divisions: small appliances, major domestic appliances and professional appliances all into growth.

It’s much more sustainable for us, as a business, to have a breadth of growth.

Q: What have been the biggest areas of growth for Smeg UK?

A: The small appliance category has been high growth for us, for a while, and is very much driven by our strength in ‘breakfast’ and more recently the launch of our new soda maker.

I see small appliances as an attainable purchase which brings people into our brand, so plays a really important role for us.

We’ve got a big drive in coffee, now, and have been advertising our coffee appliances on TV for the first time.

On a broader scale, cooking is a big focus.

Range cooking is a strength for us and you’ll see more of a focus on built-in appliances too.

We’ve also had really good performances in dishcare and laundry.

What we’re really looking to do is win the kitchen – not just a category.

If you think about when people move house and renovate their entire kitchen, we want to provide a brand across the kitchen.

Q: So, what will be your key focus?

A: The key focus for us would be how we can land cooking growth, and not just be reliant on range cookers.

We need to land the messaging that our built-in ovens are highly engineered with patented technology and features designed to help our owners achieve delicious results.

The other focus is coffee because we can see a growing trend in home baristas that we all like to think we are.

That’s very deliberate because of our Italian heritage. We are good at coffee. We are good at cooking.

Q: How important is the kitchen retail channel to your plans, specifically independents?

A: It’s really important for us.

We’ve got national kitchen studios – the likes of Wren – where we have range cookers. We are in Magnet as well.

The smaller, boutique kitchen studios are also really important for us.

If you look at many of our products, it’s a really involved purchase and a long consideration period.

The kitchen studios are really good at supporting that journey.

I think we can grow through experiences and bring people into the brand.

I want people to buy the Smeg brand not be sold it, and I think a kitchen studio is probably the best place to do that, as well as independent electrical retail.

That being said, obviously there are volume sales from nationals so you have to balance all those things out.

The way we do that is different ranges in different places.

So, the top end of our range is in kitchen studios where it is a really involved purchase, and the more affordable more attainable purchases are available through some of the nationals that are big on replacement cycles.

Q: Are you looking at growing your retail network?

A: I think that we need to make our current distribution work harder for us and then, where it’s right, extend distribution.

Obviously, as managing director, I have to go and find the right space to grow but what we won’t do is rush into everywhere because different retailers play different roles.

Q: You created a pop-up store in Bluewater, at the end of last year, with direct-to-consumer sales for small appliances, and selected fridges and ovens. Can we expect more of those?

A: Direct to consumer plays to our experience model. I think Bluewater offered us that chance to talk to consumers.

We see that as brand experience but also a selling opportunity.

What we have to be mindful of is that consumers come into Bluewater and might not buy for six months but they’ve experienced our product.

It was successful. It drove brand awareness and some good sales.

I expected sales to be very heavy on small appliances, but people bought into major appliances as well.

We also saw people had brilliant, education experiences and then chose to buy direct from us 2-3 months down the line.

Pop ups will be a big part of what we do. We’ll move around the country with that experience.

Bluewater is a good place to start because if you look at our target audience it over indexes in London and the Home Counties.

Q: How are you managing the balance between selling direct, and through national retailers and kitchen studios?

A: Keeping everyone happy it’s tough. I’ve got three children, and I can’t keep all of them happy every day.

You don’t just grow one or the other. Growing all channels is what we need to do.

I think more and more consumers are using direct-to-consumer websites for research but may not buy on our website.

We must have a good direct-to-consumer experience to make sure that we keep them in our ecosystem.

Direct-to-consumer is different to a kitchen studio environment, because it’s often more about the replacement cycle rather than designing a new kitchen – so there are different shopping journeys we need to cater for.

We’re going to do that sympathetically. Collaborative growth through partnerships is a foundation to our strategy.

Q: What would you say to retailers who have said there’s not enough margin in selling kitchen appliances and it’s not worth their while?

A: It is worth their while because it’s extra money through their bank, but also it enables them to influence the overall kitchen experience.

If I was running a kitchen studio the thing I’d be nervous about is selling a £30,000 kitchen, but not controlling the appliance and after-sales experience.

We have applied a new level of focus to after sales to give the studios the confidence in our overall delivery. After Sales experiences is a priority pillar for Smeg

The economy is not in a brilliant position, and we believe in these times consumers trade up on items that enhance their in-home experiences.

You’ve got people who want to be at-home chefs, and you have people who want to be at-home baristas.

I’m one of those people with scales and a bean grinder.

Q: What is next on the agenda for Smeg UK?

A: Watch this space and you’ll see some new products coming soon.

The market is challenging, so I think the brands that will do best will remain true to who they are.

For us, that’s coffee and cooking which are true to our Italian heritage, and they’re growing trends.

We’ve grown year-to-date and we hope retailers want to partner with us to be part of that growth story going forwards.

I’m very growth orientated, and we are working at pace.