When asked about the biggest opportunity for the year ahead, Lisa Meth-Cohn, buyer for Cleaning, Laundry and Home at Lakeland comments:
“We see the interest in eco-friendlier products very much continuing and indeed getting stronger. We’ll continue with our strategy of giving our customers choice wherever we see a viable and genuine alternative, and we’ll also be watching and testing all new product developments in this area with great scrutiny.”
Looking back over 2019, Lisa highlights the most positive and negative influences on the housewares industry:
“For Cleaning in particular, the most positive influence is the surge of house-proud cleaners right across social media, but Instagram in particular. Cleaning has become a hot topic for all ages, and as part of that customers are looking for products, hints and tips, and are seeking effective ways of cleaning in a way they never have before.”
Lisa continues: “We’re also clearly seeing the increased prominence of eco across all housewares categories, from cleaning to how we store our food – this is a great challenge to set our industry and one which we are very much embracing at Lakeland.”
“On the negative side for the housewares industry, the retail market in general has seen challenges in recent years, such as the decline in footfall on the high street. At Lakeland, we continue to focus on our customers, enhancing their shopping experience both online and in store while delivering the very best service and price. Our stores are showrooms for our brand and allow customers to get hands on with our most innovative products and to seek advice from our knowledgeable staff. The launch in August 2019 of our new loyalty club, myLakeland is testament to our dedication to our customers with the club already proving hugely popular.”
*Lisa is one of the industry figures featured in Progressive Housewares’ State of the Nation feature in the January/February 2020 issue. [see pages 38-41]
Top: Lakeland’s Lisa Meth-Cohn.
