Today, the premium and luxury appliance market is valued at roughly $3.7 billion. And while independent retailers own the majority of the luxury space, there is still plenty of room for growth in a business that has expanded steadily over the last decade. With a focus on ensuring members remain ahead of the curve in the category, Nationwide Marketing Group has tapped John O’Halloran to lead the buying group’s luxury appliance efforts.
O’Halloran, an appliance industry veteran, transitions into this new role after spending a year working in the field as a Member Support Manager for some of Nationwide’s largest independent retailers.
“Being in the field for the past year gave me a unique opportunity to better understand the goals and challenges that members face today,” O’Halloran says. “I believe, now more than ever, that the luxury business for independent appliance retailers is critical to their long-term sustainability. With my background of more than 20 years in the luxury appliance industry, the timing was right for me to shift into this role.”
The addition of O’Halloran to the appliance team comes as Nationwide has ramped up its efforts in the luxury and premium appliance category. In particular, the group has focused on improving the customer experience through expanded digital offerings.
“Over the last 18 months we have developed successful digital marketing strategies to grow luxury appliance sales for our retailers,” explains Jennifer Danko, vice president of technology at Site On Time. “Luxury appliance customers have different shopping behaviors and a longer purchase journey. With that in mind, our focus has been on creating inspirational and engaging content and messaging that resonates with this audience, and the results our dealers have seen speak for themselves. Retailers who’ve adopted this strategy are reporting a more than 40% increase in luxury brand appliance sales.”
As a senior merchant, O’Halloran is tasked with building on that by identifying and addressing the challenges and needs of Nationwide’s appliance dealers, specifically within the luxury and premium appliance category. O’Halloran will work to expand existing partnerships within the appliance vendor community and establish new relationships that support Nationwide’s strategic vision for the luxury appliance business.
“We need to work together to share best practices, establish key vendor relationships and utilize our web and digital platforms to help our members innovate in this category,” says Doug Wrede, vice president of home appliances for Nationwide. “Adding John, with his history and expertise within the category, is critical to ensuring the success of our strategy. By working collaboratively with our member and vendor partners, he will help us find new and innovative solutions that will sustain our members as the leaders in this space.”
Based out of Chicago, O’Halloran started his career at luxury appliance distributor Oakton Distributors. There, he worked with builders, architects, designers and top retailers to support key luxury appliance brands including Sub-Zero, Thermador, Bosch, Scotsman and many others. From Oakton, O’Halloran moved over to Almo Corporation, where he spent more than a decade before joining the Nationwide Marketing Group team.
“I am very excited that Nationwide has taken this very important step into the luxury appliance vertical by bringing me into this new role,” says O’Halloran. “Our success in this space is not a light switch; we are creating a long-term strategic plan that will pay huge dividends to the members and vendors that choose to participate. I look forward to diving deeper into our members’ businesses to understand how we can better serve them with the resources they need to be successful in this category.”
