Italian home appliances and consumer electronics market closed 2023 with a decline in turnover of -6.4%, for an overall market value of 16 billion euros. The sector is experiencing a phase of slowdown in demand, due both to the saturation effect resulting from the record sales recorded in the years of the pandemic, and to consumer concerns linked to the high cost of living and international crises the only exceptions are Major Domestic Appliances (+3%) and Small Domestic Appliances (+0.3%), which remain in the positive area. The most negative sector of all is that of Consumer Electronics which recorded a contraction of -28.7%, while the Home Comfort saw a slight drop in sales (-2.8%).
Category Archives: Financial
Haier cutting workforce at its Romanian factory
Haier, owner of Candy-Hoover group in Europe, will make redundant 400 of its 1,000 employees at its refrigerator factory opened in 2021 in Romania upon an investment of EUR 70 million, out of which EUR 25 million provided by the state through a grant.The factory is located in the Allianso Industrial Park in Ariceştii Rahtivani, near Ploiesti, on 63,000 sqm
LG Electronics reports profitable 2023
LG Electronics Inc. (LG) achieved a consolidated revenue of KRW 84.2 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 3.55 trillion in 2023. This marks the third consecutive year of record-breaking annual revenue, despite challenges like an economic slowdown and reduced demand.
LG’s core businesses, home appliances, and vehicle components, displayed resilience, maintaining continuous growth for eight consecutive years. The combined revenue for these segments exceeded KRW 40 trillion, a substantial increase from KRW 18 trillion in 2015, now constituting 47.8% of the total revenue..
Whirlpool Results
Whirlpool communicates the results of the fourth quarter of 2023, in the name of cost reduction that will continue in 2024: closing of transaction with Arcelik in Europe expected in April
“ In 2023, we saw a more than one-point increase in market share in North America and cost reductions of approximately $800 million , as expected. Looking ahead to 2024, we expect to further revise our cost structure with an additional reduction of $300 – $400 million, while the transformation of our portfolio will unlock increased margins with the closing of the transaction in Europe, expected in the month of April 2024 ”. These words from Marc Bitzer, president and CEO of Whirlpool Corporation , summarize the company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2023 results and provide guidance for the current year .
Amazon iRobot
Amazon’s takeover of vacuum cleaner maker iRobot is set to be blocked by the European Union’s competition watchdog,
It’s a blow to the tech giant, which was previously given the all-clear for the purchase by the UK government’s competition watchdog.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that its place in the UK market was “modest” and that it already faced several significant rivals.
Amazon declined to comment.
The online giant moved to buy iRobot, maker of the Roomba cleaner, in August 2022 in a takeover deal set to cost $1.7bn (£1.4bn).
Unieuro recovers profitability
Unieuro closes its third quarter of 2023 demonstrating that it is able to recover profitability even in the face of an uninspiring sales trend. The adjusted Ebit for the autumn was 11 million with an annual growth of 31.5% showing, as a company note, “a significant acceleration compared to previous quarters, thanks to the careful margin management policy and the significant cost rationalization plan aimed at preserving profitability”.
Sales in the third quarter were in fact down 11% compared to the same period of the previous year. The week of Black Friday and the weeks preceding it were down, resulting in a November, they did not “restore the current year trend of the consumer technology market”.
In the first 9 months, revenues and profits slightly decreased
In the first nine months of the 2023/2024 financial year, Unieuro achieved revenues of 1.9 billion euros, with a decrease of 6% compared to the previous financial year (2 billion). In the third quarter of 2023/24 revenues were 727 million, down 7.8% compared to 788.5 million in the previous year
Unieuro S.p.A. is the largest Italian retailer of consumer electronics and household appliances by number of outlets, with a network of 460 stores throughout Italy
Bunzl to buy Nisbets ?
Distribution giant Bunzl is eyeing up a £450m deal to buy Nisbets in what would be one of the most remarkable catering equipment supply mergers the UK industry has ever seen, If any sort of agreement does materialise it would make Nisbets a bedfellow with one of its longest-running and arguably closest rivals, Lockhart Catering Equipment, which is owned by Bunzl.
Samsung To Showcase Enhanced AI
Samsung Electronics today announced that it will use CES® 2024 to introduce Samsung’s newest kitchen products, applications and features, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and SmartThings connectivity, enabling an ecosystem that delivers better food and kitchen experiences. Notable products and features in the lineup include the 2024 Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™+ — which is the industry’s first home Internet of Things (IoT) refrigerator launched in 2016 — equipped with the all-new AI Vision Inside feature, the new Anyplace Induction Cooktop and enhancements to the Samsung Food service
To enhance the experience in the kitchen, the 2024 Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™+ has been packed with a variety of innovative technologies. One impressive new feature is AI Vision Inside, which uses a smart internal camera that can recognize items being placed in and out of the refrigerator. Also, it is equipped with “Vision AI” technology, which can identify up to 33 different fresh food items based on a predefined set of training data comprising approximately one million food photographs.1 With the food list that is available and editable on the Family Hub™+ screen, users can also manually add expiration date information for items that they would like to keep track and the refrigerator sends out alerts through its 32” LCD screen for items before reaching that date.
Also, with the assistance of the Fridge Manager feature, which monitors the status of the water filter in the refrigerator and alerts when a replacement is needed, the Family Hub™+ screen offers easy, one-click purchase of new water filters from Amazon.2
Appliance screen functionality does not stop there. Samsung’s new Anyplace Induction Cooktop and Slide-in Range are each equipped with a 7” LCD screen, where users can view the recipes that were selected and saved from the Family Hub™+ to assist their meal preparation. The new Anyplace Induction also offers improvements in its basic cooking features such as efficient and borderless heating of pots and pans on any part of the cooktop, thanks to Samsung’s induction sheet coil technology. And with Anti-Scratch Glass applied instead of a typical ceramic glass, users won’t have to worry about scratching their induction surface when moving cookware.
What’s more, the Samsung Food application — which can now be accessed on the Family Hub™+, the Anyplace Induction Cooktop and the Slide-in Range — brings several upgraded AI features. The “Personalize” feature3 powered by the enhanced Food AI allows users to adapt recipes to reflect their dietary requirements beyond what was previously available — vegan, fusion — to accommodate gluten-free, pescatarian, dairy-free and other diets. Meanwhile, the new “Image-to-Recipe” feature3 with the enhanced Vision AI now recognizes meals and multiple food items from photographs and explores dishes that can be made with those ingredients. Lastly, Tailored Meal Plan analyzes users’ information by connecting to their Samsung Health profiles4 to create personalized meals based on their health needs.With the Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™+ as the centerpiece, the food ecosystem is all about how the AI features in these kitchen products and the Samsung Food service connect and support each other, enabling users to have a better relationship with their food throughout the day and delivering a full range of smart, connected kitchen experiences.
Samsung Food also connects with and ties in Samsung Health5 to benefit the lives of users. The service uses health information collected from Samsung Health to suggest healthy, appropriate recipes. After that, users can send cooking instructions for these recipes to their various kitchen appliances with just a few key presses.
Then there is Tap View,6 which offers enhanced convenience by allowing users to easily mirror the display of their Galaxy smartphones to the Family Hub™+ screen. Furthermore, users can also enjoy YouTube and TikTok7 applications on the refrigerator screen for more information and entertainment.
Image of kitchen with Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™+
All these advancements build toward Samsung’s greater goal of expanding its seamlessly connected, AI-based food ecosystem with the key focus of providing users with superior kitchen experiences that require less effort.
Electrolux Professional to buy Japan’s Tosei
Electrolux Professional on Friday said it had agreed to buy Japan’s Tosei Corporation (8923.T), a maker of professional laundry equipment and vacuum packing machines, for about 1.65 billion Swedish crowns ($163.3 million).
“Tosei will significantly strengthen our position in Japan which is the second largest laundry market, and third largest food service market globally,” Electrolux Professional CEO Alberto Zanata said in a statement.
De’ Longhi: new global coffee machine hub is born
De’ Longhi has agreed to buy from its parent company a stake in high-end espresso machine manufacturer La Marzocco as it bets on coffee to pep up growth.
Milan-listed De’ Longhi will spend $374 million to acquire 41.2% of La Marzocco from De’ Longhi Industrial, its parent company, as well as from other minority shareholders, to create a hub with its existing Eversys coffee machine-making operation.De’ Longhi will control around 61.4% of the new hub which will see the two companies remain independent, while reaping benefits in terms of savings and chances to cross sell products.
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