UNIROSS is still known by many as the rechargeable brand.

UNIROSS started life in Bristol in 1968 making industrial rechargeable batteries.

In the 1980’s and 1990’s Uniross started to produce more ‘retail friendly’ ranges for every day use in more consumer friendly packaging (better card designs and information and clam pack.

Most retailers were having some success with Uniross AA Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) 800mAh batteries in a small market These early developments helped lift the image of the rechargeable battery from being a garage product to a more domestic appliance and into the larger market of the general domestic consumer.

The introduction of the 1300mAh Ni-MH in AA size in the 90’s was a revolution for retail at this time, a good-better strategy started to emerge and sales started to increase. Uniross started to drive the market by introducing on-pack promotions and the market started to grow. A while later (2002) saw the launch of the 1700mAh AA in the UK, again a first from Uniross. Then the 2000mAh AA followed shortly afterwards in 2003. This was just as the digital camera was hitting the mass market in UK and most of these cameras were using mainly AA cells.

This now gave many more consumers first hand experience of how superior rechargeable batteries were in powering ‘high drain’ appliances. They far surpassed ‘ordinary’ alkaline batteries in the number of shots that could be achieved, and you could recharge them up to 1000 times – almost too much to believe!

In 2006 Uniross launched the AA 2700mAh, still the highest performance rechargeable AA battery available today and recently awarded ‘Best Rechargeable battery’ by Channel 5’s The Gadget Show.  

2006 UNIROSS also saw the start of an increase in the range of Lithium camera and camcorder rechargeable batteries to give more compatibility and consumer choice as digital cameras became more Lithium battery dependent. By this time Uniross had moved to a central European HQ just outside Paris and expanded world wide to places like China, India, Australia, South Africa and the US, buying several companies along the way.

In 2007 Uniross was the first battery company to launch a pre-charged, ready-to-use rechargeable battery in the UK – Now known as ‘Ultra’ – using Hybrio® technology.

Because of the environmentally benefits of the rechargeable battery, Uniross were also the only battery brand to have been endorsed by the biggest environmental organisation (the World Wildlife Fund) and have carried the WWF logo on their packs.

Then a combination of massive raw material cost increases for Nickel (250% increase at one point) poor exchange rates and poor performing company acquisitions led to a re-financing of the Uniross business in 2009. It was the huge Eveready Industries India Ltd that saw the opportunity and potential and invested in the Uniross global business in mid 2009. Thanks to Eveready Industries, Uniross has increased it’s product portfolio to include an extended range of rechargeable and non rechargeable batteries, over 120 digital camera and camcorder Lithium batteries, AA Lithium primary batteries, an entire range of the latest (EUP) European Directive compatible Power supplies, a full range of LED torches and more Product Development to follow, including 5 new battery chargers due for launch in Summer/Autumn 2010

A new Uniross strategy is to increase their availability in the UK and Ireland markets by working closely with a limited number of distributors. They are:

Supreme Imports, Anand International, Peat wholesale (Ireland only) and Jeff Scowen (for the Photographic and imaging market).

Jeff Scowen in particular has been for many years virtually a Uniross only wholesaler of rechargeables and thereby synonymous with the brand. They stock all of the photographic and imaging products including every one of the growing 150 range of Uniross digital camera and camcorder batteries. These distributors cover the whole UK and Ireland market, and Uniross are proud to be associated with all of them.

Specially prepared to support the photographic market, Uniross have the very latest battery compatibility brochure, which features over 8,000 cameras and camcorders. This is available to all UK retailers and e-tailers in paper and PDF form and updated regularly. If you want one, please contact your battery distributor or Uniross directly. The Uniross ‘Battery Finder’, which allows you to search for the right battery by brand and make of the camera, will also feature on the new look Uniross website, which is being re-launched in September 2010.

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Here are some of the highlights from my expanding range and reducing prices:

• Large reductions on the whole of my Panasonic batteries range. As an example you can now buy a AA 4 pack alkaline for just £0.59.

• Included now in my extensive range of Silicon Power memory cards are the new Full HD Video cards. Together with the whole range these have been recently reduced so that the 8gb for example is only £11.75.

• More Kodak and Energizer batteries have now been added to the range.

• Work envelopes and wallets are now back in stock as are both 1gb & 2gb XD cards and a new line: Fuji Photodisc CDs.

• Soon into stock will be a range of 100s of storage products from the UK’s leading supplier Arrowfile. Jeff Scowen has recently been appointed as their sole UK wholesaler to the trade. More on this later.

• Many new Uniross batteries for digital cameras and camcorders are now in with more to follow together with big price reductions across the range.

View my website to see all this and more. Thanks.

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You would expect me to say that my new website is something special…Well here’s the proof:

‘Blisteringly fast. I have never used a site, retail or consumer, with such a quick response’
Brian Callow, Castle Cameras, Bournemouth

‘What a freshing change, an ordering web site that’s fast and simple to navigate. I use the major manufacturers sites for ordering and find them slow and ponderous in comparison. Even better, Jeff’s site automatically remembers what you order in ‘My Favourites’  Try it soon: It’s clear and precise!’
Alan Wilks, Station Cameras, Reading

‘This way of ordering is cutting edge. Order at a time to suit you – not just between 9am and 5pm. Real time stock information – so you know the item is in stock at the time of ordering. Fast checkout, with card payment no missing settlement discounts now.  Very fast delivery with the invoice emailed direct to your desk. Well done Jeff’.
John O’Shea, Discount Films Direct, Nottingham

‘Hi Jeff, just to let you know how quick and efficient we are finding your new website. It must be saving us hours every month. Any member of staff can complete an order in just a few minutes. Thanks again.’
Andrew S, London Camera Exchange, Taunton

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Hot News!
The weather’s getting warmer, the government’s looking good and we’re not in the Euro, so here we go with better times….

As I am now confident that all my new systems work sufficiently welI, I have decided to re-instate my popular full back page advertising in the excellent Pixel trade magazine. Pixel have also agreed to produce and publish a feature on the fascinating Jeff Scowen changes which have produced a unique business model that has completely transformed in just 3 months a 25 year old business model into the most advanced and integrated set-up in the trade. Original and even more exciting projects are in development as a result of these changes: More news to follow over the coming weeks and months

New Products
‘Optimised for video usage’, the new Silicon Power Full HD Video SDHC cards are launched this week to compliment Silicon Power’s comprehensive range of 200x CF, MS, SD, SDHC, SD Micro and SD Mini cards.
Available in 4gb, 8gb 16gb and 32gb these cards are superbly packaged in gold and red (see attached or my website home page) and have SP’s famous Lifetime Warranty.
I have visited SP’s factory and seen first hand the absolute precision in the manufacture of their cards. As a result they are amongst the world’s most reliable cards.
Jeff Scowen is the UK’s Official Sole Distributor of Silicon Power flash memory.

This week’s featured product in the fantastic Agfaphoto Cleaning Range is the unique the Digital Cleaning kit (see attached)
Agfaphoto’s comprehensive Digital Cleaning kit has been developed to keep your customer’s photographic equipment in pristine condition. The cleaning liquid removes dirt, grease and fingerprints from the lens and case and is supplemented by 10 dry cloths and 3 pairs of wet/dry wipes. The 100% scratch free swabs are to clean all recesses. The kit also has a blower brush, plus micro fibre cloth 150×150mm cloth for a final buffering. The dry cloths can as well be used for this purpose.
Your customers can now keep their investments in top condition with this internationally tested Agfaphoto product. Only £6.89+VAT each trade.
View my website www.jeffscowen.com to see and order this kit plus the rest of the 13 product range.

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This week’s featured Agfaphoto cleaning product is the unique Multi-Media Cleaning kit

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In the words of someone famous (or was it a pop group?) ‘Things can only can better’
Whoever says that this year has been good is either very lucky or probably just being optimistic…Comments such as ‘tough’ and ‘difficult’ are most certainly understatements about what we have all had to injure in recent times.

But ever the eternal optimistic I do however predict much better times ahead. Warmer weather, greener trees and longer days herald the perennial good times ahead.

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…you could go on to a Trade Site and see and order your specially negotiated prices when you logged in? What if… you called Jeff Scowen.

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After the harshest Winter in 30 days and a deep reccession the last few months have, let’s be honest, been tough. And yet I know things will soon change. Why? Well because of that good old British Obsession: The Weather. I can feel it coming and it’s not so very far away now….The Feel Good Factor. Just you wait and see… let the clocks go back at the end of the month giving us all the extra rays after work and Spring bringing the oh so welcome warmth and the smiles and with it the shopping will return. April will bring us all cheer and not a day too soon…

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Call Jeff Scowen today and an array of of pleasant voices will greet you ready to converse and take your order. Even better, order on-line for the best trade ordering experience. Un-touched by human hand your order will be electronically processed with breathtaking efficiency using today’s technology to the full. No other Photo trade site in the UK is so advanced. Never in my business career have I had such a positive response to a project.. THANK YOU ALL!

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Those of you who have already used my new trade website say, without exception, that it is:

* Extremely fast in operation
* Very easy to navigate
* Simply a joy to use

Other great features include:

* ‘Live’ stock showing quantities available when stocks are low. This is a new feature
* A useful and time saving ‘favourites’ tab: After a few orders your good sellers are there ready
* A shopping cart that is on view throughout the ordering process. Very handy

I guarantee that you will enjoy the process. Please register today and give it a try. You can get a ‘flavour’ of things by simply logging on to www.jeffscowen.com and viewing the home page. Click on the index.

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