PEW gets an insight into the story behind the development of the OVIA lighting brand as it embarks on an exciting new phase.
During 2019, electrical solutions provider, Scolmore Group, made a significant investment in its successful OVIA brand of lighting to create a dedicated, independent lighting company – OVIA. The aim was to bring to the professional electrical contract market a vastly extended range of high quality products that are very competitively priced, and are available through the reliable wholesale channel. The OVIA product offer now covers a much wider range of sectors including commercial, industrial, utility, amenity, emergency lighting and floodlighting.
Pedigree
OVIA is not another new LED lighting company – the name is a familiar one in the industry. It was first introduced by Scolmore in 2011 as the umbrella brand for the company’s growing lighting collection. Having enjoyed considerable success with it during the last eight years, Scolmore recognised the huge market potential that the transformation of the lighting sector has brought in recent years, with the emphasis on energy efficiency and connected systems. The new OVIA lighting range has been developed with this in mind and includes a full range of lighting control solutions that will optimise energy saving credentials.
Lighting expert
OVIA is now officially launched, with leading industry expert, Mike Collins, heading up the business and a highly experienced sales team on board taking the new OVIA offering out to customers across the UK.
Mike Comments: “Our aim is to provide contractors with a broad range of lighting products that are quick and easy to install and will save them time and money on any given project. We believe that we have a winning formula with this new OVIA range. We already have a reputation for quality and reliability and we believe we are hitting the market at the right time to fill a gap for a broad spectrum of entry level lighting products that are highly competitively priced, offer a range of unique features and benefits, and are unmatched by competitors.
“We’ve got some fantastic products in the collection and had a great opportunity to get some feedback from the industry when we took them to ELEX in Sandown in November last year. The most common reaction was that contractors felt they were being listened to and we were bringing out products that cater directly for them.”
The OVIA team will also continue to engage with contractors throughout 2020 through its dedicated YouTube channel SGTV.
Lighting design service
As part of a commitment to deliver a first class service, a dedicated OVIA lighting design service is available, allowing customers to access free lighting design schemes for their commercial projects. This can all be handled through the local ASMs who are all qualified to carry out site surveys. With all the relevant information and measurements acquired and a site survey completed, a suitable lighting scheme will then be designed, and the proposal and quotation supplied.
Product spotlight
Some 400 individual products made up the first phase launch in November. The premium products within the OVIA lighting range come under the Inceptor brand. Inceptor is already a well-established and highly-regarded brand among contractors – think Nano, Omni and EVO. Now a raft of innovative new products have been added to the Inceptor range, with special features and benefits that set particular products apart, such as the ability to use the Flow connector for speed and ease of installation, as well as the offer of additional warranties.
Product Focus:
What to look out for in 2020:
Inceptor Slate – OVIA is the first company to introduce a commercial LED panel with pre-wired Fast Fit Flow Connector as standard
Inceptor Iona – the only commercial downlight on the market that has an integrated Flow connector
Inceptor Apto – an unusual, adaptable commercial downlight that can be retrofitted into a range of cut-out sizes
Complementing the lighting products offer is a range of sensors to control devices – microwave and PIR control options. The benefits are numerous – they can add convenience, help save costs, improve safety and reduce environmental impact.
A dedicated OVIA website – www.oviauk.com, and a comprehensive 196-page downloadable product catalogue are available to provide customers with quick and easy access to everything they need to know about the OVIA collection.
Elite stockist benefits
OVIA is offering wholesalers access to a range of additional benefits by becoming an OVIA Elite Stockist. Benefits include 2% discount when placing orders on the online ordering portal with guaranteed next day delivery on orders placed before 2.00pm – 14 days returns policy with no handling charge. They will also have access to the OVIA online Marketing Hub (product images, promotional flyers and product data), POS merchandising and trade counter support, plus the OVIA lighting design service.
Whether an OVIA elite stockist or not, all wholesaler partners will benefit from the full backing and support of the Scolmore Group, with the guarantee of a range of high-quality, competitively priced products, backed up by excellent local stocks and delivery service, as well as detailed product support via trained staff and customer training.
The team
Mike Collins brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the OVIA business. He is supported by a highly experienced team:
-Charlie Desmond – covers East Anglia, Essex and London. Progressed from electrical graduate management trainee to fully fledged sales representative for one of the UK’s largest electrical wholesalers.
-Reg Oldrey – covers the South East. 15 years’ experience with a number of leading wholesalers and a major lighting manufacturer.
-Daniel Arnold – covers the North East and Yorkshire regions. Extensive experience in both wholesaler and lighting manufacturer environments.
-Simon Cooper – covers the South West and South Wales regions. Former Dale Carnegie outstanding achievement award winner with over 15 years’ experience with a major electrical wholesaler.
-Chris Kirk – covers the North West region. Will be transferring the skills and experience with a number of top UK lighting brands to OVIA.
-Michael Bakewell – covers the West Midlands region. An all-rounder who is a qualified electrician and has extensive sales experience in electrical wholesale and manufacturing.
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