The KBB-Land of opportunity

Guest Blog by Sam Cande, sales director at UBM Live.

The kbb land of opportunity is going to be at the NEC in 5 weeks time, and in the final furlong to the show, I have to say it’s going to be a stallion of an exhibition!

Whilst many rumours have driven me almost to insanity, the dust has at last settled, the stands are all being built, the brochures are going into final productions, the products being finished, the invites are going out and the crowds are starting to show their support.

There are over 300 brand names exhibiting at kbb Birmingham and having spoken to most of them personally, I can’t wait to see the amazing new products that they will be launching. There is a lot of secrecy surrounding the new products this year - companies have spent the last two years finalising their new products to perfection and will be using the show as an opportunity to proudly unveil them.

Some exhibitors have over 100 new products; some have only one new product to show. But whatever is going to be there, I have the feeling that there will be the biggest buzz around the show in years.

I wont be the first to say it's been a tough time for everyone and I probably wont be the last. It almost feels like the year will really begin after kbb Birmingham.

With this being the only industry show of the year I have no doubt the aisles will be choc-a-block. I am sure that people will visit just to see who is there and who isn’t, but the fact remains that 300 companies have lots of exciting products to show you.

I am sure that those who unfortunately have been unable to exhibit this year will be back in the future...

So if you haven’t got your ticket yet, it's not too late to register. Make sure you come along to the show - I look forward to seeing you in the aisles!

An inspector calls...

The Business Inspector gets boost from HMRC.

A new TV series – “The Business Inspector” - has been sponsored by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The programme will raise awareness among small businesses that they need to keep good records.

Stephen Banyard, Business Customer Unit Director at HMRC said: "We know that most small businesses want to get their tax right. But we also know too that failure to take reasonable care costs the Exchequer over £6bn a year, with a major cause being poor record keeping. We hope this series will raise awareness of the need for good record keeping.

"We also want small businesses to realise the benefits to them – such as improved cash flow – of taking better care of their records and paperwork."

Presenter Hilary Devey added: "Britain’s brimming with creativity but a terrifying number of businesses go bust each year and this shouldn’t be happening. I am going to teach businesses how to improve their all round business knowledge and direction, cash flow, marketing strategy and in some cases even their enthusiasm. Invaluable lessons they will never forget."

The Business Inspector is a four-part series that will be broadcast weekly on Five at 8pm from 10 March 2010.

Back to the future - again

 

The Electrolux Design Lab 2010 competition, open to undergraduate and graduate industrial design students, has issued a call for entries.

Since its launch in 2003, the Electrolux Design Lab has become one of the most important platforms for new designers. As a showcase of the emerging new and exciting design talent it is without equal. And it provides a unique opportunity to get an early glimpse of what the industrial designers of tomorrow have in store for us.

The young men and women who enter the competition are not restricted by what has gone before in KBB-Land. I suspect that few of them had considered household appliance design prior to entering a competition run by one of the 'big beasts' of this market, so they inevitably bring new ideas to the table - make that the drawing board.Back to the future - again.

Okay, most of the design ideas will remain just that, ideas. But all of the entries are exciting and original, and several will sow the seeds of the domestic appliances of tomorrow.

This year the Design Lab theme is household appliances for 2050 when it is predicted that almost three-quarters of the population will be living in an urban environment.

Homes will be smaller, so the days of the 600mm X 600mm domestic appliance cube is already numbered. That has already started of course, so it will be interesting to see how much further down this road we may be in another 40 years.

Meanwhile if you want to get an idea of what future generations may be using in 90 years time, the kbb Birmingham exhibition will feature the finalists' entries from Design Lab 2008.

You may think all of the ideas really are "off the wall". But before to use your mobile phone to call a friend to tell them how ridiculous the ideas are, think how much the phone you are holding has changed in the last 90 years since it came "off the wall".

There is a dedicated Design Lab 2010 website at: www.electroluxdesignlab.com

£700m of funding available to SME's

Over £700 million of affordable and easy to access funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) has been approved for nearly 3,000 small businesses across the UK, through participating national banks.

At the 2008 Pre-Budget Report, the Government announced that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) could benefit from up to £4 billion of EIB finance between 2008-2011. Small businesses access the funds through intermediating national banks, which then lend the finance on a matched funds basis. In the first year the target was for UK banks to secure £1 billion of finance for SMEs from the EIB. This was achieved, with banks having now secured a total of £1.39 billion from the EIB.

Together with a range of other measures being implemented by the Government to support UK businesses, this scheme will help to ensure that well managed small businesses in the UK continue to have access to the best support available.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Ian Pearson MP, said: "Support for SMEs is key to driving growth in the UK, so I am delighted that small businesses are benefiting from this finance. This forms part of the Government's continued commitment to help SMEs access the finance they need to take their businesses forward, which is vital to our long-term growth strategy.

"I want to encourage all businesses to get in touch with their local banks to find out if they can get access to this funding; it is an easy process and certainly worth pursuing".

Simon Brooks, European Investment Bank Vice President added: "The EIB's ongoing support for small and medium sized enterprises in the UK through cheaper, simpler and more flexible loans will enable increased investment to expand business opportunities and create new jobs in difficult times. We wish to encourage continued contact between firms and partner banks to allow more companies to benefit from the extensive financial support available."

John Wright, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), also welcomed the news: "The FSB welcomes the news that nearly 3,000 SMEs have benefited from low cost EIB loans. We continue to urge non-participating banks to enter the scheme to make the loans available to more SME clients. Tracking research by the FSB shows that credit conditions for SMEs continue to stabilise, with more requests for credit being accepted. Further promotion of EIB loans will continue to help the smallest companies through the recovery."