Lec Refrigeration seeks agency for 4m account

Britain’s second-largest fridge manufacturer, Lec Refrigeration, is searching for an agency to handle its business which will be worth an estimated 4m over the next three years.

The last time Lec did a major advertising push was in 1990 with a 600,000 press campaign through Farnham-based Wagner Advertising.

The advertising spend will be split over the next three years starting with 600,000 during the first year, 1.2m in the second and 2m in the third.

Last year, the company announced an overhaul of its marketing and product development strategies following its 22m purchase by Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby (MW, August 12).

Lec marketing manager Ian Truin said last year that the company planned to move upmarket and create a modern brand image for itself and hinted that the appointment of an agency and move into above-the-line advertising was a possibility.

According to market research company Key Note, the refrigerator retail sales market for 1994 was worth 139m in the UK. Key Note forecasts that the market will grow by only 2.2 per cent between 1994 and 1998. The total market for household appliances is predicted to grow by 5.6 per cent over the same period.

This stagnant market is forcing Lec to be more aggressive in taking market share rather than relying on total market growth to gain sales.

Like other refrigerator manufacturers Lec, second only to Hotpoint in the UK , has had to modernise its factories to comply with EC regulations on CFC-free refrigerators.

– Booth Lockett & Makin has not lost the 1m Portman Building Society media account as suggested in Marketing Week last week. Creative work has moved into European Marketing Group, but media buying has been retained.