Classic gizmo brewing up a storm of nostalgia

AN ICONIC gadget is making a comeback after it was redeveloped by a Potteries firm.

Fenton-based Swan Products has re-launched the Teasmade, the quintessentially British device which combines a kettle with an alarm clock and allows consumers to wake up to a freshly-brewed cuppa.

The new incarnation of the Teasmade, which features a sleek new design, will be stocked exclusively at John Lewis until November, when it will also be available at retailers including Tesco, Comet and Debenhams.

The device has a complicated history – it first went into mass production in 1936 under the Goblin brand, eventually becoming the Swan Teasmade when both brands were taken over by another firm.

Swan was acquired by the French manufacturer Moulinex in 1988, but by 2001 the company had gone into liquidation.

The Swan brand was then taken over by catalogue retailer Littlewoods, which turned to Swan Products to supply its small domestic appliances last year.

Brand manager David Foulstone said: "We used to do commercial products like tea urns for Littlewoods and they asked us if we'd like to do their small appliances too.

"We thought the Teasmade would be a great product to launch with – the only other company which made something similar went under last year, so there was a vacuum in the market."

Staff from Swan Products travelled to China to find a manufacturer, and they are now co-ordinating its distribution through fellow Fenton firm Connextions Logistics.

The packaging design and photography was also carried out in Stoke-on-Trent.

Mr Foulstone said the team is thrilled with the response to the new Teasmade, which costs £60 and can make tea or coffee.

In the past few weeks it has been featured in several national newspapers, prompting hopes for bumper Christmas sales.

He said: "It's gone absolutely crazy. John Lewis have already been in touch asking for another 2,000 within the next two weeks.

"We're looking at doing different colours next year and tie-ups with major tea manufacturers, but we're not pushing that yet."

Mr Foulstone said the new Teasmade is quieter than the device of days gone by, when many consumers found the alarm clock redundant because the kettle function made such a racket.

And he is hoping the modern design will appeal to a more diverse market.

At the height of its popularity in the late 1960s, the Teasmade could be found in around two million households and more than 300,000 were sold every year.

But by the 1990s it was seen by some as being slightly 'naff' – in spite of Prime Minister John Major's wife Norma admitting to keeping one in the bedroom at 10 Downing Street.

Mr Foulstone said: "I remember my grandparents having one – in the 1970s and early 1980s they were pretty much the must-have Christmas present or retirement gift for middle-aged people.

"Now we're not just targeting the traditional audience, but also younger people like students.

"There's a lady who runs a website dedicated to the history of the Teasmade – we sent her one and she said it's the first one her kids have actually liked.

"The main difference apart from the look is that it's quicker and quieter."

Paul Martin, central buyer for small electricals at John Lewis, said: "I'm very excited about the re-launch of the Teasmade, as every time I have visited a branch I have been asked when it will be making its return.

"There is a customer demand for Teasmade machines and when we last had good stock of them in 2007, they flew off the shelves. Swan has updated the concept and once again, we expect it to sell very well."

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