South Korea’s two tech giants — Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. — on Friday said they will release new home appliance products in Europe to boost sales in the region amid the pandemic.
Samsung said it will begin launching a new laundry appliance with upgraded artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and a new refrigerator highlighting customization features in major European markets, such as Britain, France and Germany, late this month.
The WW9800T washer cuts washing time by up to 50 percent and energy usage by 20 percent compared with its previous models, according to Samsung. Its latest washing machine also comes with EcoBubble technology, which maximizes the effectiveness of detergent by turning it into soft bubbles and allows for faster penetration into fabrics, Samsung said.
With its AI Control technology, Samsung said its new washer can automatically suggest the optimal wash cycle.
“AI Control eliminates the need for users to scroll through cycles to find the right one, or to input their individualized settings each time,” it said. “The AI Wash feature uses sensors to detect the laundry load’s weight and soilage, to determine the optimal amount of water and detergent to dispense.”
Samsung’s new RB7300 refrigerator will make its debut in Europe. The bottom-mount freezer (BMF) refrigerator boasts thinner interior walls, offering a larger internal capacity of 385 liters, 18 liters larger than the previous model, the company said.
Samsung’s Bespoke refrigerator range will also make its first appearance for European consumers. The product will be first sold in Nordic countries in October and will be available in other European nations over the next year.
The Bespoke refrigerator is built under the company’s Project Prism, which aims to reflect consumers’ lifestyles and allows them to personalize the materials, colors, shapes and designs of the products. The refrigerator has already been launched in other nations, including South Korea and China.
Samsung said its latest refrigerators and laundry lineup will be further explained at its “Life Unstoppable” virtual event Wednesday. The company will host the online event as a replacement for IFA 2020, Europe’s largest tech expo, which it decided to skip due to the pandemic.
LG said three new refrigerator models highlighting better hygienic and AI features will hit the shelves in Europe. Starting with Sweden next month, the refrigerators will be launched in more than 20 European countries by the first half of the next year, according to the company.
LG said its InstaView Door-in-Door refrigerator with UVnano utilizes ultraviolet LED light technology and can disinfect the water dispenser outlets once every hour to remove up to 99.9 percent of bacteria and germs.
The 569-liter refrigerator is also equipped with advanced technologies that can minimize temperature fluctuations and make entire fridge space cooler by distributing airflow from strategically placed vents, LG said. Its ice maker located in the freezer drawer can produce two-inch spherical ice balls.
LG’s updated Fridge and Freezer pair is comprised of a 386-liter fridge and a 324-liter freezer. They can be purchased separately, but consumers can buy both of them and connect them to look like a single refrigerator.
“They are designed to fit easily into standard kitchen cabinetry for a clean, minimalist look,” LG said. “Their flat door design and zero-clearance hinges are ideal for installing right next to a wall for a seamless, built-in appearance.”
Its latest InstaView ThinQ refrigerator boasts a consumer-centric AI platform, LG said.
Any food item placed inside or removed from the refrigerator is automatically tracked via its advanced vision recognition technology, LG said. The company’s AI technology also allows the refrigerator to offer meal suggestions after analyzing food items in the fridge and even inform other home appliances what to do.
“It can set a connected oven to the right cooking temperature based on the recipe and even choose the optimal wash cycle for the dishwasher based on the meal,” LG said.
Shenzhen-listed Midea reported net profits of 6.04 billion yuan ($858.5 million) in the three months through September, representing a 23.5% increase year-on-year. Its revenue hit 67 billion yuan in the three months through September, 6.4% higher than last year.
Over at Gree, whose business mainly focuses on air conditioners, growth was more sluggish. The Shenzhen-listed company posted 8 billion yuan in net profit — a rise of 0.66% year-on-year — and generated 57 billion yuan in revenue, a rise of just 0.03%.
Meanwhile, Shanghai-listed Haier, which is staking its future on developing “smart home” technologies, turned a net profit of 2.6 billion yuan, more than double the equivalent figure from last year, and also reported a 7.7% rise in revenue to 148 billion yuan. The figures come after Haier jettisoned its logistics arm — bringing 4.6% revenue growth, according to the company — and earned 144 billion yuan from a stock selloff.Domestic sales of home appliances hit 174.5 billion yuan in the third quarter, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%, according to the China Testing & Inspection Institute for Household Electric Appliances, an organization affiliated to the country’s State Council.
Though the two companies are independent, they share their R&D activity to improve efficiency in developing new products.”Since Daewoo was included in Dayou Winia Group in March 2018, we have been sharing many of our activities with Winia Dimchae to boost efficiency and productivity. Besides sharing the sales network of the two, we are sharing R&D and product design activities to improve sales. Also, to concentrate on what each company is good at, Winia Daewoo is focusing on producing washers and dryers while Winia Dimchae is making air-quality control products such as air conditioners and air purifiers,” he said.Winia Daewoo employees in its Gwangju plant produce washing machines. / Courtesy of Winia DaewooThe CEO added Winia Daewoo is also seeking to be included as one of the country’s 10 best companies to work for.”We are aiming to improve our operating profit-to-sales ratio to 5 percent by 2023 and become one of the country’s 10 best companies to work for,” he said.”Also, Winia Daewoo has been working to make Dayou Winia Group one of Korea’s top 50 business group by 2025. To reach this goal, we have been utilizing our global sales network and business knowhow so that more consumers can experience the group’s quality products.”Ahn, who served as a chief of Samsung Electronics’ Peru branch, joined Dongbu Daewoo Electronics in 2015 and was responsible for overseas sales of the firm’s Central and South American region and became the CEO of Winia Daewoo in 2018.Speaking on how Winia Daewoo products are received in the global market, Ahn said producing locally customized appliances makes it one of the most popular brands in many countries.”Winia Daewoo has succeeded in many countries with its locally customized appliances. For instance, our Chef Mexicano microwave enables users to cook 31 traditional Mexican foods such as tortillas and picadillos. To develop the microwave, our employees conducted on-site surveys of local Mexican food and thanks to that effort, we have been leading the microwave market there since 2013,” he said.Though the company has seen growing hurdles due to the rise of Chinese makers that have been aggressively expanding their market presence with cheap and quality products, Winia Daewoo can sharpen its edge by focusing on developing these customized appliances.”We have been expanding our market share with these locally customized products. Based on quality products and our sales networks in many countries that have been in place for more than 30 years, we will continue to take the lead in the competition,” he said.Combining AI, IoT with home appliancesWith artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT) and machine learning technologies emerging as must-have features for home appliances as companies can offer an improved user experiences, Winia Daewoo is also working on developing these technologies
.”To seek further growth in the business, Winia Daewoo has been conducting research and development into the latest technologies that are crucial in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Ahn said adding IoT technologies will be applied to Winia Dimchae’s signature kimchi refrigerator first.”Our sister company Winia Dimchae plans to feature an IoT feature in its upcoming kimchi refrigerator, which will hit the market this year. These features will also be included in Winia Daewoo products at the right time,” he said.
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