From kettles to air fryers, Vintage to Retro, red to purple, and everything in between, the Swan Retro range has been iconic from the very start. June 2023 celebrates 10 years of the Retro range – let’s take a trip down memory lane.
First introduced in 2013, and originally named “Vintage”, the Retro range has grown to be one of our most popular ranges, bringing a splash of colour to kitchens all over the UK.
The range began with tall fridges and fridge freezers in a select few colours. This paved the way for matching toasters, kettles, microwaves, and dishwashers in 2014. A year or so later, Retro housewares were born with towel poles, mug trees, bread bins, and canisters added to the collection. By 2016/17, the Retro range had grown with new colours added – this included a marmite colour combo of orange and brown!
In 2018, one of the most popular appliances, still to this day, was brought into the Retro range: the Retro Pump Espresso Coffee Machine. Flash forward to 2020 and the beloved Retro Manual Air Fryer joined the Retro party in black, blue, cream, green and grey. Two years ago, Retro 1.0 got a revamp with Retro 2.0 coming onto the scene with a new shape and style.
Now here we are. June 2023 celebrates 10 years of the iconic Swan Retro range. We caught up with Deb, our Sales Manager, who was here right at the beginning of the Retro journey.
Deb, Sales Manager:
“My first memory of the Retro Range is definitely microwaves – and jumping over the tower of samples we had in our, then, tiny office!
Since then, the range grew, designs and colourways have come and gone, but it’s always stood strong and has pinpointed what Swan has grown to be recognised for. The addition of MDA (major domestic appliances) to the range is what took us into AO.
Many retailers have listed over the years: Argos, AO, Robert Dyas and Tesco (see image), to name a few”.
Retro is what Swan has grown to be recognised for.
Deb, Sales Manager, on celebrating 10 years of Retro.
Retro has definitely been a staple for Swan over the years. We sat down with our Marketing Director, David, to learn more about the origins of the range and how it has grown over the last decade.
David, Marketing Director:
“Retro never goes out of fashion, it’s just about making sure you catch it at the right time. I think, if anything, what I’ve learned over the last ten years is, don’t just change something for the sake of it.
Before Retro we probably tried something and in a year it didn’t work so we tried something else. What I’ve learned from Swan is it takes about three years to bed the product in, to make it just keep going.
For us, it’s just about sticking to the colours and evolving the products as and when we need to, really.”
You can read the full Retro interview here.
