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I’ve no doubt that there will be lots of fabricators and installers working in the retail market heading to the FIT Show this month with the specific intention of identifying the perfect smart lock for their businesses.
There’s huge momentum building around this technology at the moment and it obviously represents a great opportunity to increase margins on new business and, if you choose the right product, to revisit previous installations and generate profitable repeat business as well.
Looking at the FIT Show exhibitor list though, fabricators and installers could almost find themselves spoilt for choice. As well as the established names, there are several new entrants to the market all promising something slightly different.
The good news for Mila customers is that we’ve already done the hard work for them. We’ve scoured the smart lock market ourselves over recent months and have joined forces with Mighton Products to offer the new Apple HomeKit compatible Avia secure smart lock which we think is the perfect solution.
If you accept that most smart locks are designed to essentially do the same job and therefore have many of the same features, the key differentiators for trade customers, as we see it, are how easy the lock is to fit – especially in retrofit installations, how easy it is to sell, and what level of support and back up is available.
With Mighton’s new Avia secure smart lock, which we are now distributing exclusively to the trade in the UK, we are confident that we’ve got all three of those key areas covered perfectly.
In terms of ease of fitting, the Avia secure smart lock comes with a standard sized backplate. That means it can be fitted, and crucially retrofitted, quickly and simply. It’s wireless and works with all standard multi-point locking systems on PVC, composite or timber doors from 44mm to 70mm, so can be very easily integrated into existing production and installation set ups.
What makes it really stand out from most of the competition though is that it is fitted on the inside of the door only, with a Mila SupaSecure PAS24, SBD accredited handle fitted on the outside.
This keeps the installation process very familiar, but also means that, from a sales perspective, it overcomes some of the concerns which retail buyers frequently voice about smart locks. Primarily, it deters the opportunist thief who might be attracted by a smart lock and eliminates any risk of tampering. Just as importantly though, it gives buyers the absolute reassurance of having a traditional key and cylinder for back up in emergencies so that they know they will never find themselves locked out.
When it comes to the sales process, the other winning feature of the Avia is that it is Apple HomeKit compatible. That means it has been reviewed and approved by Apple to ensure that the military grade software protocols it uses for the transfer of data are fully secure, and in turn means that it comes with the Apple HomeKit logo, which is so trusted by consumers, on all of its literature and packaging.
It obviously has all the features which tech savvy homeowners expect. It’s easy to pair with an iPhone, iPad, Apple watch or key fob and lets them control access to their home from anywhere in the world. It can be set up in seconds using a secure Bluetooth connection, and it has an anti-tamper alarm, 256-bit data encryption, and an activity tracker to provide a full audit trail.
Because Mila is the exclusive trade distributor of Avia, customers can be certain that it will come with all the proven benefits which we offer on all our products – a guarantee of in-stock availability, next day delivery if required, full sales and technical support and a comprehensive marketing package.
The Avia secure smart lock itself has a two year manufacturer’s warranty and our Mila SupaSecure handles come with an impressive 25 year mechanical and surface finish guarantee.
More details are at: www.mila.co.uk
