Retail Observer

September 2017

The Retail Observer is an industry leading magazine for INDEPENDENT RETAILERS in Major Appliances, Consumer Electronics and Home Furnishings

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RETAILOBSERVER.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 16 AHAM'S ANNUAL MEMBER MEETING LOOKS AHEAD TO THE NEXT 50… AHAM added a milestone to its history at its 2017 annual member meeting, The Next 50…, with its largest-ever attendance. Attendees took part in sessions on cutting-edge appliance industry issues like cybersecurity, counterfeit products, and the circular economy and got an inside look at product safety regulation from Consumer Product Safety Commission Acting Chair Ann Marie Buerkle. AHAM also honored five members for their leadership and service. MANUFACTURERS URGED TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST COUNTERFEITING Whether water filters, air bags or ink cartridges, counterfeiters will duplicate and sell anything that has the potential to make money. In the process, they are putting consumer safety at risk, and potentially causing serious harm to brands' reputation. It's in manufacturers' best interest to fight back, counterfeit expert Bruce Foucart of Foucart and Associates told AHAM members. "The more of a pain you can be to counterfeiters, the more likely they are to go elsewhere," said Foucart, former director of the U.S. IPR Coordination Center, Department of Homeland Security. CYBERSECURITY EXPERT: MORE CONNECTED FEATURES BRING NEW THREATS The number of connected devices has grown to more than 8 billion, and appliances are adding more connected features. But malicious code that exploits vulnerabilities and turns connected devices into weapons is also growing at an exponential rate, accor- ding to Ron Ross, a fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and head of the Federal Information Security and Implementation Project. That means manufacturers need to give serious thought as to how they'll build security into their products, not consider how to add it afterward, Ross told AHAM members. "Even with the best security, no measures will stop all attacks," Ross said. "When you're designing an appliance or any kind of system, build security in." CIRCULAR ECONOMY: A CHANGING MODEL Are the days of using a product until it stops working, discarding it and replacing it, over? Probably not, but it's likely that more companies will shift to a product-as-a-service model as consumers demand products that last longer and do more. Scarcity of SEPTEMBER I N D U S T RY [ N E W S ]

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