Trendiswitch: It’s time to think differently

Written by Steve Collinge - International speaker, thought leader, retail influencer and commentator, MD Insight Retail Group & Executive Editor Insight DIY.

You’ve ordered your new sofa; agonised over the Dulux paint colours and argued about whether to have a wallpapered feature wall, but the likelihood is you’ve given little thought to the humble light switch and plug socket while working on your latest home improvement project.  It’s white and plastic and just the same as everyone else’s right? 

I don’t think I’ve met anyone who didn’t complete at least one home and garden project in 2020 and the very latest research is telling us that 2021 is turning out to be the year of the bigger project. Consumers are now focusing on using the money they’ve saved to replace their kitchens, bathrooms, to create new work from home offices and garden rooms. Completing these projects and settling for standard white plastic light switches and sockets just seems wrong.

Enter Trendiswitch: a UK manufacturer here to make you think differently about this often-overlooked but essential component of every refurbishment or new-build project. Their mission for the Electrical Category is to bring design-led, functional products to the world, similar in price to the conventional (and boring) light switch and plug socket.  

Founded by Managing Director Ben Sunderland in 2015, over the last six years Trendiswitch has gone from strength to strength, growing to a 16-strong team at its new East Sussex, head office, showroom and manufacturing facility.  

Open-minded and innovative, the team has created a range of plug sockets and switches to offer style-conscious, discerning consumers the opportunity to customise their interiors with a range of colours and designs to meet their design needs.

Trendiswitch products have been fitted within homes and hotels both at home and abroad and have even been seen on screen, with switches appearing on the BBC programme ‘Your Home Made Perfect’ and Coronation Street.

Key Staff 

From humble beginnings starting at home in a converted coal store, Ben Sunderland has built a knowledgeable and experienced team, which now includes:-

• Sean Toseland - Sales Director 
• Connor Herring - Operations Manager 
• Adam Drury - Chief Technology Officer
• Abigail Rowland - General Manager 
• Dan Rose - Product Manager
• Andrew Mackie - Export Sales Director

The Range

With a screwless design and a clip-on front plate, Trendiswitch believes its key product attribute is a universal interior allowing interchangeable front plates, enabling it to meet clients’ design demands. Customers can choose from 2,500 customised product options and a bespoke service is also available, matching any RAL shade or finish required. 

Products are designed and manufactured to British, CE and CB standards, ensuring peace of mind for customers. The key product features include:

• High quality, fireproof ABS plastic module casing and faceplate
• Scratch resistant and UV-proof coating
• Screwless design with a clip-on front plate
• Easy to install – simply replace old socket, no additional wiring required
• Interchangeable faceplates make it easy to alter the look of your home
• Easy-clean product
• 5-year manufacturer’s guarantee
• Suitable for all commercial and residential applications

Products in the Trendiswitch range include:

• One, two, three, four, six and eight-gang light switches
• One, two and four-gang intermediate switches
• Single and double sockets, with and without USB plugs
• Dimmer switches
• Fan switches
• Fused spur
• 45Amp switch
• Cooker panel
• Cat 5/6 sockets
• Double pole switches
• Retractive home auto switches
• Coaxial/TV/PC/Ethernet sockets
• Blanking plates

The company recently launched its new 'Let's Do Colour' range, adding 16 new colour options with neutral shades of blue and grey alongside bright strawberry and orange hues, to complement any home or business interior.

For those looking for more traditional tones for their sockets and switches, Trendiswitch continues to offer its full product range in its core shades of Piano black, Ice white, Champagne Gold and Platinum silver.

Channels & Customers

Trendiswitch operates a three-channel sales approach, offering its products through retail stores, online, and via trade retail.

Current distribution partners include high profile retail chains such as Homebase; Next; The Range, and online etailer Very.co.uk and Amazon.  Specialist websites include theinternetelectricalstore.com and UKElectricalSupplies.com, while trade retail partners include CEF; Rexel: Yesss Electrical; Electric Center; Inspired Lighting, and Newey & Eyre.

Furthermore, the company has a number of export partners, so, whether your business is based in the UK, Europe, the Caribbean or the Middle East, Trendiswitch can help you help your customers find that perfect finishing touch.

Homebase

The new ‘Let’s Do Colour’ range was developed as a result of a discussion between Sean Toseland and retail partner Homebase, who issued Trendiswitch with a radical brief: “How can we really shake up the electrical offer?”

Trendiswitch conducted several trials alongside social media research, experimenting with different colours until the perfect combination of new shades was identified.  By November 2020, the new range was rolled out across Homebase stores, adding something very different to a space traditionally dominated by white plastic and chrome - arguably, changing the landscape of electrical accessories.  

Sean said, “To complement our traditional four core colours we decided in late 2020 to launch the “Let’s Do Colour” project and along with our retail partner Homebase we have bought 16 new colours to the wiring accessory space, offering a huge choice of options to the consumer.

"With a strong emphasis on the current trends in home interior paint our new colours range is led by greys and tones of blue, however, we have been bold and added reds and oranges."

Twelve weeks  after the new range was launched in Homebase, the four core Trendiswitch colours remain the most popular shades, while the coloured switches are gaining week on week.  Unsurprisingly, the new grey tones are proving especially popular, reflecting continued consumer interest in grey interiors.

Get In Touch

Trendiswitch is actively looking for strategic partners to assist in growing the TRENDI brand throughout the UK and internationally.   Partners can expect to benefit from:

• Excellent margins from a product showing impressive growth year-on-year
• Personalised quotations
• Updates on new releases
• Complimentary tickets to trade events where available
• No MOQ 
• Next day delivery on all orders using reputable delivery partners including Royal Mail, DPD and DHL – carriage paid on orders of ￡100+
• Point of sale and additional promotional items/marketing assistance
• Full access to Trendiswitch’s image files
• Project registration to safeguard on large deals

If you think that the Trendiswitch’s proposition might help your customers add that perfect colour-co-ordinated finishing touch to their home, don’t hesitate to make contact with Sales Director Sean Toseland:

Email:             [email protected]; [email protected]

Mobile:            07415 588995

Telephone:      0203 5899 520

See the full Trendiswitch range and learn more about the business at www.trendiswitch.com

Steve Collinge is an international speaker, influencer, retail commentator and is Managing Director of Insight Retail Group Ltd and executive editor of Insight DIY. You can follow Steve on LinkedIn here on Twitter here and contact him via DM on LinkedIn.