Bill Miller,sales and marketing director at Atag, looks at the cooker hood market in which he says has had a tough time recently because of the downturn and the resulting increase in competition has made it a much more interesting market.
The often overlooked cooker hood has become more of an aspirational product in its own right, with consumers and manufacturers paying far more attention to design and functionality, leading to more variation in size, finish and style.
The two most popular styles of hood in the premium sector are recessed ceiling extractors for a seamless appearance, or statement designs that really have the 'wow' factor. At Atag, we find that the recessed cooker hood is the most popular, and these do have numerous benefits for premium consumers.
A recessed hood ensures there are no issues with access to the hob and allows the kitchen furniture to do the talking, while offering a professional look and a high extraction rate. This style of hood is also popular with those who have a large kitchen island and wish for this to be the focus of the kitchen. However, there is still a market for stunning and unusual extractor hoods that act as a centrepiece.
Extraction rates are getting higher and are practically at a professional level. This is a key consumer demand, driven by the increased interest in Asian styles of cooking that use a wok, which creates more steam that needs to be extracted, requiring higher power levels. Size is also a factor, with hoods needing to cover the cooking space created by the different configurations of hobs now available.
However, with the rise of the modern kitchen as a place where people entertain guests, hoods must now be even quieter. This presents a real challenge for manufacturers, who must ensure that their hoods are both powerful but also whisper quiet. In the future, I think it's likely we will see ever smarter designs that will turn themselves on automatically by monitoring when extraction is needed.
And there will probably be models that can be connected to the home's air conditioning to ensure high air quality throughout the property, perhaps offering dehumidification and air purification too.
About Atag
ATAG is a Dutch modern kitchen brand that dates back to 1948, when Anton van Goor and Anton Tijdink founded the company. The functional strength of ATAG is based on the cutting edge in cooking technology, Innovation in terms of quality, Ergonomics (intuitive design), Ease of installation, Cleaning convenience and User-friendliness.
Headquartered in Duiven, the Netherlands and with a UK office based in Wimbeldon SW London, which handles all ordering, customer service, accounts and marketing.
ATAG website: www.atag.co.uk
ATAG UK Ambassador Centre scheme.
The Ambassador Centre scheme has been introduced last month to reward ATAG’s loyal kitchen specialists, providing increased support while ensuring consumers get the best service and product knowledge when choosing their new appliances.
The scheme further demonstrates ATAG’s commitment to the kitchen specialist, and builds on the other opportunities it offers as an appliance brand.
Ambassador Centres are selected by ATAG, and must have a minimum number of built-in ATAG products in one showroom, including the QuliMax combi-steam oven, as well as achieving a minimum annual spend. If chosen, specialists will benefit from a number of opportunities including the chance to access new products first, the creation of sales leads through an enhanced web listing, exclusive POS and signage and a rebate package.
Furthermore, the selected kitchen specialists will receive an invitation to the ATAG headquarters in the Netherlands for an annual Ambassador Centre group meeting, as well as exclusive Ambassador Centre promotions, in-store staff training sessions and on-store cookery demonstrations.
Bill Miller, ATAG’s Sales and Marketing Director, says: “The ATAG Ambassador Centre scheme proves that we are 100 per cent committed to the kitchen specialist and the superior service they provide.
“This scheme will support them in offering the consumer a personalised, knowledgeable sales experience, and we hope it will encourage other kitchen specialists to choose ATAG appliances.”
Atag is one of many European kitchen appliance and accessory manufacturers that are finding their popularity soar in the UK consumer market and other brands such as the German kitchen sink and extractor manufactures Blanco, Neff and Miele are among those leading the way