Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong entered a Covid-19 lockdown on Saturday for two weeks in response to a growing virus outbreak. Appliance Retailer contacted several Sydney-based appliance and consumer electronics suppliers to find out how the lockdown impacts their operations.
Smeg
Smeg has closed its Sydney showroom for the time being and is offering virtual tours for consumers embarking on a renovation, looking to update their appliances or seeking functional or technical assistance. The team can be contacted via showme@smeg.com.au or 02 8667 4888.
Smeg Australia managing director, Wayne Campbell said his priority continues to be the health and safety of staff, consumers at home and retail partners.
“The sales team are standing by to support retail partners with stock enquiries and orders while the Sydney distribution centre, service department and field technical team remain fully operational, under COVID safe practices. I’d like to sincerely thank our staff and retail partners for their continued support,” he told Appliance Retailer.
Eurolinx
Eurolinx has closed its Sydney showroom until further notice with the showroom manager now working remotely to take calls and enquiries while operating via live chat.
The internal operational departments are operating at full capacity but working within a team A and team B system. Working from home is encouraged where possible and the workspace environment has been adjusted to adhere to social distancing regulations with masks to be worn at all times within the Sydney building.
The spare parts sales counter is closed to the public with parts sent via mail/courier services with postage free of charge. Customers will still be able to contact the spare parts department by email and phone. Warehouse and national dispatch will continue as usual with the appropriate protocols and government guidelines in place.
“In April 2020, we put in place many protocols that allowed us to adopt to new announcements and regulations. As a business we have been able to switch back reducing the disruption to day-to-day operations as much as possible,” Eurolinx marketing manager, Daniel Bertuccio told Appliance Retailer.
“We look forward to getting back to business as usual as soon as possible and as a company are doing everything we can to operate with minimal disruption to our staff and our customers, both retail and consumer.”
Electrolux Home Products
Electrolux Home Products embraced flexible working arrangements last year to be able to adjust extremely quickly in all states, as and when lockdowns occur.
“Those in our team who can do their roles from home are working from home. All other roles continue to undertake their work as per usual, provided they adhere to government requirements in relation to face masks, social distancing and recommended hygiene protocols,” EHP communications manager, Mark Goodwin told Appliance Retailer.
“We will always happily reschedule service and delivery calls should a customer feel more comfortable in postponing those to a later date. Our strongest messages are to make sure everyone remembers to continue to be kind to one another and follow the published guidelines to help control the spread.”
Fisher & Paykel
Fisher & Paykel continues to operate within the guidelines of the Covid-19 restrictions for the Sydney region and other states within Australia.
“Our distribution centres are operating under strict Covid protocols that we have had in place since early 2020 so deliveries to our retail and commercial partners should not be impacted. In NSW and WA our repair services to consumers have been impacted with only essential work able to proceed. All cosmetic repairs have been rebooked to take place after July 12,” Fisher & Paykel chief operating officer, Jeremy Sargeant told Appliance Retailer.
Shriro
With experience from prior lockdowns, Shriro has several mechanisms in place to keep the business running smoothly.
“Everyone at our Chatswood HQ is now working from home for the duration of the lockdown and our state-based warehouses are following strict mask, sanitation and social distancing guidelines for essential workers,” Shriro Australia general manager for the appliance division, Brad Street told Appliance Retailer.
Glem Gas
Glem Gas was well prepared for the latest Sydney lockdown, having experimented with new ways of working at the beginning of the pandemic, to ensure the company could continue to operate during future lockdowns.
“We have established protocols, which were developed last year, that allow most of our Sydney staff to work from home. There is a skeleton crew managing spare parts pick and pack, while after sales service will continue with the only limitation being technicians not allowed to attend customer homes in some regions,” Glem Gas managing director, David Gilmore told Appliance Retailer.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air-Conditioners Australia
MHIAA is committed to ensuring the safety of staff and customers and with the latest Sydney lockdown, staff have transitioned back to working from home.
“Our customer care and sales teams are also working from home but will continue to offer support via phone and email. Warehousing and distribution of our products will continue as required and we are working closely with our third-party warehousing team to ensure contact free deliveries continue to service our customers during this time,” MHIAA general manager for sales and planning, Adrian Brown told Appliance Retailer.
“At MHIAA we are committed to supporting all our customers throughout this time in line with Government restrictions and requirements.”
Uniden
The Sydney lockdown has created an unusual school holiday period for retailers, with more people staying local as would normally be the case, according to Uniden national marketing communications manager, Brad Hales.
“Whether this results in more investment in technology purchases remains to be seen, however, Uniden is here to support all retail partners continuing to trade during the lockdown, with orders and shipments progressing as normal and our team remaining available for any customer enquiries.”