As has been widely reported following months of rumour and speculation within the trade, Expert Appliance Care (EAC) are to close within the next two months. No definitive date is given within the information sent out to agents and clients in a letter dated 28th February.
During this period the current management are seeking a buyer, or buyers for all or parts of the company.
The reasons cited for the closure is that EAC has been loss-making, presumably for some time and that the parent company (Iceland Foods) could no longer sustain the losses. Industry pundits have speculated that EAC was losing in the order of two million pounds per year.
As yet there is no official statement from EAC as to how many people are set to lose their jobs but estimates from within the company put the number at around 150-200 people that will be affected.
The total effect of these events has yet to be fully realised as a great many manufacturers heavily relied on EAC to provide warranty and extended warranty cover for their refrigeration products. And, with impending legislation set to come into force during June to December which means that refrigeration engineers have to hold a “Safe Handling” certificate for gas much like CORGI, companies able to repair refrigeration may be thin on the ground.
What will happen in respect to customer support for Iceland’s own brand products or products which EAC were the sole UK repair agents for is, as yet, unclear.