SVI Magazine

Well, everybody knows the big manufacturers – companies such as Sony, Philips and Panasonic, amongst others, are household names, and you'd be hard-pressed to enter a home in the UK and not find at least one piece of kit made by one of them. Then there are the nationwide retailers: the Currys.digitals, PC Worlds and Euronics groups of this world, from which many of the formers' products are bought. And that, the average person on the street (and perhaps even some members of the industry itself) will tell you, is that; but that would be to wrongfully ignore the subject of this article.

Granted, Domestic & General might not be a name that's on consumers' lips when they enter their local electronics retailer – and away from trade publications such as SVI you're unlikely to ever to come across it being advertised – but the company occupies a vital, and largely unchallenged, position within the industry, providing insurance against faulty components and accidental damage. Pull a new Hi-Fi system out of its box and there's an excellent chance that the manufacturer-branded warranty card that falls out with it will be the responsibility of D&G, though you wouldn't know it unless you delved carefully into the small print – and that's just one of many CE product groups that the company deal with.

Of course, Consumer Electronics warranties are but one string to the Domestic & General bow. The company has been in the business of breakdown cover for over 50 years, starting out catering to owners of black and white TVs before expanding its remit to take in virtually any household appliance you'd care to name. Today, what is an international operation spanning Europe and Australasia, employs in the region of 2300 staff in the UK alone, with award-winning contact centres in Nottingham and Brighton, a substantial mailing house in Coventry, administrative premises in Bedworth and a global Head Office in Wimbledon, London.

The need for such an extensive infrastructure becomes apparent when you consider that, currently, D&G provides warranty services for more than 160 big-name brands, and point-of-sale repair plan products for well over 1000 UK high street retailers. Said warranties protect some 6.7-million products spread over around 5-million UK homes, with the total number of active plans across the world now approaching 10-million.

the complete package
These impressive figures make Domestic & General the pre-eminent provider in many of the sectors in which it operates. Having spoken to Director of Sales (and SVI contributor), Lee Miller and Director of Business Development, Taj Mian, on my recent visit, it's clear that this success has much to do with D&G's ability to administer every element of the warranty proposition – from underwriting and pricing to claims handling, repairs, administration and even customer service, the firm is equipped to offer a warranty package that does as little or as much as is required.

This is illustrated by the diversity of the services D&G provides. A warranty's a warranty, right? Not so, and Domestic & General's business is founded on supplying a range of different products to customers as varied as manufacturers, service providers, retailers, banks and catalogue companies.

As regular readers – and, in particular, those retailers who can count themselves amongst D&G's customers – will know, an important part of the company's business is the provision of warranties and services plans designed for consumer goods of various kinds and sold at point-of-sale by electrical retailers as a margin-boosting add-on. D&G is the undisputed master of this sector, and whilst the current global economic woes have seen a decline in sales volume of consumer goods, the company has seen an increase in percentage terms of customers opting to shell out that little bit extra for an appropriately-named Safehands warranty – when money's tight, looking after what you have makes far more sense than splashing out on something new!

Such warranties are a real boon to retailers, and their value doesn't end after the consumer leaves the shop. Lee Miller was keen to highlight, as she did in her comment piece last issue, D&G's policy of channelling business back to those retailers selling warranty services – should a customer's new flatscreen require replacement, a new product will be sourced and supplied from said retailer, giving them an extra sale and the goodwill and potential future business generated by a job well done.

behind the brands
Whilst point-of-sale is certainly a key part of Domestic & General's business, it's away from retailers that the firm is currently enjoying the most rapid expansion. The administration of manufacturers' warranties and registration business is one such growth area. If you'll forgive a brief foray away from SVI's core areas of interest into the world of white goods, D&G administer, support or run 100% of the warranties offered by Tier 1 manufacturers – names such as Hotpoint, Zanussi, Whirlpool, Hoover, Miele, Bosch and Siemens – as well as the majority of those companies in Tier 2 and some from Tier 3. To cut a long story short, choose a branded warranty on white goods in the UK and it's almost certain to be the work of D&G.

It's fair to say that the numbers aren't quite as impressive in the Consumer Electronics market (100% is a tough figure to live up to!), but D&G nevertheless provides services for the likes of Sony, Philips and Samsung, and is enjoying further growth as CE manufacturers come to appreciate the benefits of a partner capable of handling their warranty business, reducing overheads and increasing profitability in the process.

And it doesn’t end there. Significantly, D&G can lay claim to responsibility for Sky's Sky Protect plan, which covers users' satellite TV- and broadband-receiving kit for a monthly fee, whilst innovative solutions like its Repair Plus 1 service – in which a warranty-less consumer with a faulty product is offered a year’s cover in addition to any necessary repairs for a flat fee – is proving popular with a growing number of clients.

Completing Domestic & General’s all-encompassing product portfolio is a raft of packages supplied either directly to the consumer or through a third party as part of an added value deal. The latter is another important growth area for the company, and one to which banks in particular are paying considerable attention. NatWest’s Advantage Gold current account, for example, offers customers willing to pay a monthly fee a range of D&G supplied benefits – including an extra year’s warranty cover on each and every piece of electronic kit they might buy. Before those retailers reading complain that such warranties rather cut them out of the loop, it's important to note that here again replacement units are usually sourced through local retailers, ensuring the company's traditional clients get a piece of the pie.

With similar deals offered through HSBC and Lloyds premium accounts, Domestic & General are optimistic that this area of business will also be expanding significantly over the years to come.

what next?
Here at SVI we are, of course, primarily interested in the Consumer Electronics side of D&G’s business. Speaking to Taj Mian about D&G's plans for the future, it’s clear that the company is focussed on developing its CE products to better suit the increasing number of gadgets and gizmos that surround the modern day consumer – from flatscreen TVs and surround sound systems to MP3-players, portable games consoles and mobile phones. With regards the former, Taj stressed the potential D&G sees for both retailers and installers to sell cover for complete entertainment systems, offering consumers a convenient catch-all solution for an ongoing monthly fee; in terms of the latter, the convergence of portable devices and their ever-growing importance to their users has made them a key target for the company – and when you consider the number of people in our industry alone who would be lost without their iPhone, it’s hard to disagree!

But there aren't the only areas attracting D&G's attention. Demonstrating the flexibility of the company’s infrastructure is another new and developing solution – PC Guru. A subscription service, developed to aid computer users whether they’re stumped as to how to print or are perturbed by ominous whirring sounds emanating from their hard drive, it works by giving D&G's trained staff remote access to the PCs in question, allowing many issues raised by troubled customers to be resolved instantly. Of course, if necessary, repairs and/or replacement are also offered, affording the warranty holder complete peace of mind.

As with the aforementioned added value warranties, the PC Guru service is proving particularly popular with online banking institutions which, for obvious reasons, are concerned that their customers can access Web-based services quickly and easily at all times, as well as retailers who may not have the necessary expertise or infrastructure required to support such products. Judging by the reception PC Guru has received to date, this area of D&G's business looks certain to keep on expanding.

Domestic & General appears to have something for everyone – be they manufacturers, retailers or consumers. Providing an important service to the latter in a manner which serves to boost both the reputation and profits of both of the former, it’s not hard to see why not one of their clients has parted with them of their own volition over the years. Indeed, a profitable business that generates added value for its professional clients while affording consumers an equally valuable service, is hard to ignore. With technology of all kinds becoming more and more important to society, and no shortage of new ideas in the pipeline, D&G's influence looks set to grow and grow in our industries and beyond.

For further information contact:
+44 (0)20 8946 7777
www.domgen.com