LASER invests in NZ market with new distie and retail partners

LASER, the Australian-owned consumer electronics company, has announced a number of investments in its New Zealand business.

Most notably, LASER has appointed a new distributor, new retail partners and launched a range of owned brands for the first time across new and existing product categories.

These enhancements to the business come off the back of a period of growth for LASER in New Zealand, more than doubling its best previous year, the company states.

Building on LASER's long standing relationship with Synnex, LASER has added to its New Zealand distributors with the appointment of Pudney - Lee.

The appointment of a second distributor is in direct response to the demand for new brands and product categories from LASER in the New Zealand market, with both Synnex and Pudney - Lee managing their own separate portfolio, the company states.

Pudney - Lee managing director Scott Cate says, "It is a very dynamic and exciting time in the New Zealand retail landscape, with local consumers craving more choice and affordability.

"This is especially so in the smart home space where LASER offers some tremendously compelling options across brands and product ranges.

Cate says, "We're looking forward to working with our retailers and the LASER team to provide this variety but also to really educate the New Zealand consumer.

"Our collective experience gives me confidence that we can take smart home to another level in this market, all driven by affordability and the opportunity for consumers to dip their toes into smart home for the first time.

LASER has grown to be the number one smart home vendor in Australia by volume, which has been driven in large part by the company's smart lighting range, according to the company. This included being the first company to break the $10 smart light bulb price point in 2019.

According to a statement, LASER will continue this momentum into New Zealand. For one, The Warehouse Group is set to carry a range of second generation LASER Smart Home products only recently released in Australia, including lighting, security, video doorbells and smart plugs with power monitoring.

The launch of this range comes after a successful online trial throughout 2020 and early 2021, and will include an important education campaign including extensive in-store point of sale materials.

Another key category for LASER is pet products. Along with Australia, New Zealand experienced a significant increase in pet ownership and spend on pet products throughout 2020, which has led to PETstock expanding its relationship with LASER's Tech 4 Pets brand into its New Zealand stores.

This will include its full range of pet technology products, including feeders and trackers, and include in-store support and product training.

LASER managing director Chris Lau says, "We have a strong focus on growing markets outside of Australia, and New Zealand is the first piece of this important growth puzzle for us. To be able to expand our reach further by adding another high calibre distributor in Pudney - Lee is very exciting for us.

"We have worked tirelessly to differentiate ourselves in the Smart Home and Pet Tech categories in Australia, delivering innovation at a highly affordable price.

"It is tremendously gratifying to work with retail partners including The Warehouse Group and PETstock who are so excited to take these brands and products to New Zealand for the first time.