Focus on safety: in 2002, home safety products are poised to grow between 3 percent and 5 percent - Home safety and security systems - Brief Article

DSN Retailing Today, August 12, 2002

Three major factors are fueling this growth:

1. More than ever, a growing concern for home safety and security is prompting consumers to learn more about issues affecting their homes.

2. A healthy new construction/remodeling market that has weathered a slow economy. Research illustrates that when worries about the economy become a concern, people tend to stay "closer to home" and focus upon improving and protecting their home environments.

3. New and relevant products that help make home safety easier to understand and to install. The only manufacturers that will thrive will be the ones that have a multi-year strategic plan that lays out a path for the development and launch of innovative products that help make staying safe, simple.

Understanding Your Customer

BRK Brands, Inc., the maker of the First Alert(r) and the BRK Electronics(r) and the BRK Electronics(r) Brand of products, conducted a series of in-depth research interviews to strengthen its understanding of the safety category and to help retailers know their customers. The study suggests a number of points that can be utilized by merchants as tools to build the home safety business.

* The majority of the consumers polled rated smoke/fire, intruders in their homes, and overall child safety as their leading concerns.

* A new baby or new home/move were cited as the strongest influencers to purchasing a safety product.

* News coverage of a tragedy in their community oftentimes led to purchase or replacement of a safety product.

* Household penetration of smoke alarms remains high at 98% and fire extinguishers at 80%, but only 40% of the respondents claimed to have Carbon Monoxide Alarms in their homes (12% of those respondents did not know what they were).

* The majority of the "safety conscious" consumers cited CO Alarms and Fire Extinguishers as their most likely next purchase.

* Only 31% of the consumers questioned had some type of security system in their homes.

* In addition to smoke/CO alarms, dogs, guns, locks and first-aid kits round out the safety/security products the have in their homes.

* By a 3-to-1 margin, The First Alert(r) Brand was named by consumers as the most widely recognized and overall "best brand" of home safety products.

Source: 2002 Consumer Safety Interviews. 2002 IM Safety Category Study.

New Products Help Satisfy Consumer Safety Issues

Consumers want safety products that are simple to use and effective. While shoppers embrace new technology because of the solutions they help to provide, they also insist that items are comprehensible and easy to install. They want worry-free products they can put out of their minds.

To this end, BRK Brands, Inc. has developed a five-year New Product Development Continuum that uses as simple discipline-identify what consumers need and want, assess the viability and technology required, manufacture it to the highest quality standard, and market it more widely and clearly than anyone else.

The SA302 dual sensor smoke alarm is the perfect example of this kind of thinking. Data indicated that people were increasingly concerned about "nuisance alarms," alarms that sounded for non-threatening reasons like cooking smoke. This increased the likelihood of the consumer disarming the alarm to silence it or taking the batteries out of it- leaving his/her home vulnerable to real threat. BRK Brands, Inc., under The First Alert(r) Brand developed a dual sensor smoke alarm that can be safely and temporarily silenced using most household remote controls.

New Products Create New Purchase Occasions

New products that help satisfy consumer demand help turn the safety category into a year-round retail opportunity. The First Alert(r) SA302 Smoke Alarm, for example, has become a great Fathers Day seller and Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms have increased consumer appeal as wedding and baby shower gifts, house-warming gifts and even stocking stuffers during the holidays.

Backing Up the Brand

The fact that The First Alert(r) Brand is the best-known consumer brand in the category is not a surprise to us, the company has always been the leading source of consumer information on safety issues.

This year, the brand stepped up its marketing efforts with:

* National Magazine Advertising

* National Television Advertising

* Outdoor Advertising

* Targeted Direct-Mail Programs

* In-Store Promotions

* New Packaging/Merchandising

* National Public Relations

* National Event/Industry Sponsorships

Contractors Taking Charge of Safety Issues

With very encouraging housing news, and an increase in the growing number of local safety codes, the construction and remodeling markets represent both a new and replacement opportunity for retailers. The contractor is not unlike the general consumer-he wants products that are easy and quick to install. Reliability is also high on the list because callbacks are time consuming and costly.

The BRK Electronics(r) brand of Smoke and CO Alarms are giving contractors exactly what they're looking for. Take our widely acclaimed SC6120B Combination Smoke/CO Alarm for example. It makes installation a breeze because as a combo unit, it only requires one hole installation instead of two, saving time and materials. The BRK Electronics(r) brand offers wholesalers and retailers a complete line of safety/security products that meet or exceed construction codes.