pen House format includes an immersive touch screen display that gives shoppers the ability to experience and interact with its range of Samsung appliances while instore. It also helps to demonstrate the range of connected home technology and features available in the latest Samsung cooktops, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines and dryers. Demonstrating the emerging notion of the connected home, it shows customers how this emerging connectivity can improve their living experiences. A selection of the appliances on display can be connected to the internet via a Wi-Fi connection and controlled by a compatible smartphone or tablet. Winning Appliances CEO, David Woollcott, at the launch of the Samsung Open House This new retail experience will also soon be rolled out at Winning Appliances stores in O’Connor (Western Australia) and Northmead (NSW). “Other stores will undoubtedly follow in time,” Winning Appliances CEO, David Woollcott, told Inside Retail Weekly. “Our company mission is to provide the best shopping experience in the world, and to achieve this we need to continually innovate. We believe that this is key to successful retailing. The Samsung Open House display is a great example of this.” Appliance shopping a bore The display is also the first of its kind for Samsung in Australia and comes in the wake of research that revealed that one in two Australians found shopping for home appliances “unexciting”. Woollcott noted that each display had been tailor-made to fit within Winning Appliances’ retail store layout. “The flow needs to make sense to our sales experts and our customers, as does its position,” he said, noting that the super-sized touch screen element and its content – as well as the software and the hardware – had been designed especially for his stores. He added that Samsung and Winning Appliances’ aim was to develop a lifestyle-focused display format, one that addressed customers’ desires to view products as they actually would appear in their own homes. Asked to predict future developments in his area of retail, Woollcott said: “Appliances that hit the market within the next decade will have a strong focus on automation, touch screens and connectivity. The next step is to connect the appliance to other services such as your mobile app for online supermarket shopping. There is already technology available that can re-order products as soon as they have been removed from the refrigerator. This will reach Winning Appliances stores in the near future.” Winning Appliances currently has 12 stores throughout Australia – seven in NSW, two in Queensland and three – part of its most recent expansion drive in 2014 – in Western Australia. It also works with architects, developers and the construction industry to provide appliances for commercial projects across Australia. When probed on the company’s expansion plans, Woollcott said the business will continue to focus on delivering the world’s best brands and best customer experience to its current store areas. “Winning Appliances stores are unique because we aim to deliver a multi-sensory shopping experience where a customer can envisage how the appliances will look in their homes. We aim to provide the ultimate platform for people to see, touch and interact with the world’s best appliance brands in a setting that elevates shopping to the next level. “Most importantly, we also have the most experienced sales experts in the country. None of our sales experts receive commission, which ensures that the shopping experienced is unbiased for customers and is truly helpful. Our stores also reflect the suburbs they are located in – for instance, our flagship Redfern showroom has rusted features that are a nod to the suburb’s industrial past.” Family feel Established in 1906, Winning Appliances is a fourth generation family-owned and run company. And, according to Woollcott, keeping it all in the family has given the business a true advantage. “Unlike any other appliance retailer, we have got to know what our nation’s kitchen and laundry needs are and have seen how Australians’ shopping patterns have evolved over the past 100 years. This knowledge is vital in providing an exceptional shopping experience and pioneering customer experiences.” “Culture is a key ingredient in any business and one of our company values is that family matters, which means that we not only value a good work/life balance, but as we’ve grown up as a family business, we aim to keep that family feeling alive.” Want more Inside Retail? Subscribe to Inside Retail Weekly now and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.