Know your gear

Lighting the way

Although load shedding has come to a halt for now, no one can say for sure if power failures are a thing of the past or whether the outages will strike again soon.

One thing is clear though: after the recent spate of power failures, the sales on headlamps, gas lanterns, torches and other lighting products increased significantly.

“There was a massive increase in sales, and turnover was only limited by the availability of stock,” says Mark Ponting of Trappers Trading. This increased demand for outdoor lighting products is confirmed by Ben Loots, senior purchasing manager of Kaap Agri.

“We have had a definite increase in sales across our entire lighting range,” says Rupert Merl of Ramrod. “We have experienced unprecedented sales of LED emergency lanterns, designed for camping, and higher demand for the standard camping lanterns and fluorescent lanterns.

According to John Fontyn of Eiger Equipment there has undoubtedly been an increase in the purchase of headlamps since the outages started last winter. “Headlamps are best suited for use in a power failure as they allow both hands to be free to perform all sorts of tasks in an outage — from cooking to reading,” says Fontyn.

Now that load shedding has come to a halt (hold thumbs), the question arises: has demand for these goods now slowed down?

“There has been a slight drop in sales since the beginning of May,” says Merl. “However, the only certainty and definite truth in SA at the moment is that winter is on the way!”

Derrick Akal of Akals/The Midas Group believes that it is too soon to tell, but he expects that demand would be slowing down.

Fontyn, however, does not think that this will be a drastic drop. “We do expect sales to level off eventually, but demand for headlamps has always been pretty good,” he says.

“I think it may take a while before people believe anything Eskom has to say — let alone that the outages are over.”

Major lighting product buyers

Who are still the major lighting product buyers? Is it households who desperately need these lighting products for power failures — or want alternative light sources to cut down on electricity use? Or are the main buyers still the campers, anglers and other outdoor people?

While outdoor lighting products had in the past mainly been bought by campers, hikers and 4x4 enthusiasts — their intended target market — Loots says that the products are nowadays bought as much for general household use, as for camping.

During power failures the main buyers have actually been households, says Akal.

“Household buyers have been the biggest category for the past 4-6 months,” confirms Ponting. “However, the camping and outdoor lifestyle categories are normally the biggest spenders.”

The demand for headlamps remains strong. According to Fontyn headlamps have their roots in the outdoors where demand is still quite strong from campers to hikers and mountaineers.

Most popular products

“Since the advent of compact LED headlamps, they have become popular with just about anyone who needs a portable light source,” explains Fontyn. “Headlamps are more versatile than hand held torches. They are hands-free, give light where you are looking, and provide excellent light quality and duration.

“But, hand held torches generally still outsell headlamps, although in specialty outdoor stores you will find headlamps sell better,” explains Fontyn.

“Compared with hand held torches and lanterns, headlamps are the new kid on the block. Many people are still discovering the advantages of headlamps in work and play environments, and cannot believe how they managed before without them.”

Merl says they experienced the highest demand for LED emergency lights, followed by torches. This was a direct consequence of the power failures.

The emergency lamps are compact units that can be either wall mounted in a convenient spot close to a power source to provide maximum light, or may be free standing. The compact size is great for taking on camping trips, and when used at home takes up very little space. It is portable as it has a convenient fold away carrying handle with a torch function, so the unit may be easily moved around the camp or from room to room during a power failure.

Alternative lighting methods that step away from the traditional are also playing a role in the current market where consumers are increasingly aware of electricity consumption.

“Customers will buy anything that is different — as long as it works!” says Reno van Heerden of African Outdoor and Sport, distributor of Kovea lanterns.

Given the lifespan of traditional batteries, the question arises as to whether to consider other lighting methods which don’t rely on batteries — e.g. gas or new torches on the market that one just shakes to light up.

Loots says that the shake torches are popular, even though they might be somewhat of a gimmick, they sell well across their stores.

But, although shaking torches are selling well, the re-chargeable battery-operated torches are still the most popular, says Akal.

“We only deal with battery operated models,” says Merl. “The rechargeable units are more popular as the consumer does not have to concern themselves with additional battery costs and having to consistently remember to purchase spare batteries.”

Shedding some light

Do people want bigger or more compact lighting options? “Both are popular, the concern of the consumer should be about the run-time offered by the lantern or torch, as well as how safe the unit is,” says Merl. “LED units are becoming more popular because of the increase in light output, as well as run-time where the internal circuitry has been constructed properly.”

Merl points out that there are LED units available that look the same, however there are vast differences in the light output as well as safety margins.

“The future will be great, brilliant and awesome in both sales as well as technological developments regarding power saving,” he says.

Loots believes that LED technology is doing well while the rechargeable products are declining, mainly because of poor battery quality.

In terms of headlamps, Fontyn believes that people prefer compact, ergonomic designs. “The ongoing development of LEDs means that headlamps are getting smaller and more powerful all the time,” Fontyn says.

According to Akal, all sizes are selling —depending on their purpose.

“People prefer the new LED technology, as it is more efficient and more compact,” says Ponting. “I feel that there will be an over supply for the next couple of months, unless load shedding resumes.

“Many new products (good and bad) have been introduced into the market, and I hope that consumers have learnt that quality (not price) is the most important factor when selecting lighting products.”