Category Archives: Financial

Fagor becomes a partner of the Atletico Madrid women’s football team.

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Fagor domestic appliances  has signed a sponsorship agreement with Atlético de Madrid and its women’s team. The pioneer brand in Spain with more than 65 years of experience, thus becomes the new club sponsor for this season and the next three.

The presentation ceremony for this new commercial agreement took place at the Wanda Alcalá de Henares Sports Center. At the event were present, Lola Romero, director of the Feminine, the players Deyna and Ludmila, and Vicente Sánchez, general director of Fagor Electrical Appliance.

Lola Romero welcomed her new partners: “For our club, the union of this new sponsor with our first team represents the best synergy that can be found with an innovative brand such as Fagor.”

For his part, Vicente Sánchez, CEO of Fagor Electrical Appliances, said: “Fagor is a brand recognized in Spain and with a great heritage and on the other hand we support the great passion that we have in Spain for this sport. Thus, we see in Atlético de Madrid and its women’s division values ​​and a trajectory that connect very well with our brand and will help us to make it even more recognizable. We share this passion and enthusiasm at all levels ”.

The new Fagor white goods began to be marketed in Spain in the first quarter of 2020 after the agreement signed by the international group Amica, current owner of the Fagor Electrical Appliance brand

Haier’s 70 million Euro Refrigeration plant in Romania to start production in late Spring 2021

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Haier Europe announces that construction of the first Haier refrigeration production facility in the EU is proceeding according to schedule, with production expected to start in late Spring 2021.

This production facility will manufacture best-in-class refrigerators, both built-in and freestanding for Haier Europe’s 3 brands – Candy, Hoover and Haier – with a focus on connectivity and preservation.

This large investment project exceeds EUR 70 million. The factory will have 63,000 square meters floor space on a total land of 130.000 square meters, located in the Allianso Industrial Park at Aricestii Rahtivani, near Ploiesti, 70km away from Bucharest.

The new factory will employ nearly 800 people – at full capacity – for an expected production of 600,000 units after 2022. The factory design, which is based on modular approach, will allow an expansion up to 1 million units at full capacity.

“We are happy to have chosen Ploiesti for our first cooling production facility in the European Union. This project will make Romania a strategic hub for Haier Europe and will play a key role in its strategy to become one of the top 3 leaders in the industry by 2023. With its large production capacity, technology transfer and logistic features, we are confident this facility will be a first class project that effectively shows our ‘zero distance to consumers’ philosophy”, says Alessia Ianni, Cooling Technical Operation Director at Haier Europe and Managing Director at Haier Tech Romania.

The Romanian plant will be a world-class facility featuring premium production processes brought by Haier’s advanced R&D, manufacturing capabilities and know-how. Its strategic central location, technology and efficiency will enhance Haier’s ability to serve customers in the region. This key project represents a strategic pillar in the leadership’s consolidation path of the Company in the refrigeration segment worldwide and in the execution of Haier Europe’s vision to become the first choice for consumers for smart home.

Haier Tech factory in numbers:

70+ million euros investment
63,000 square meters Floor Space
130000 square meters of land
800 new jobs
Up to 1 million fridges/year produced

Glen Dimplex acquires a majority shareholding in Thermofilm

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Glen Dimplex Group is pleased to announce it has acquired a majority shareholding in Thermofilm Pty Ltd. Based in Dandenong South, Victoria, Thermofilm produce and distribute a premium range of “Heatstrip” outdoor radiant heating products – both electric and gas. Products within the Thermofilm range include the award winning HEATSTRIP heaters, BLISS heaters and CROSSRAY bbq’s

Groupe SEB has announced a new partnership agreement with Chefclub,

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Groupe SEB has announced a new partnership agreement with Chefclub, as well as the acquisition of a minority stake via its investment company, SEB Alliance.

Simplifying cooking and making it accessible to all: that’s what Chefclub, the start-up created in 2016 by three brothers, Thomas, Jonathan and Axel Lang, has set as its corporate mission. Chefclub has rapidly become a leading brand in the production and dissemination of cooking content. It has already sold 700,000 books and launched a series of innovative products for kids, which more than 150,000 families have enjoyed so far, all created in collaboration with its online community. Groupe SEB, always at the forefront of innovation, decided to partner with Chefclub, in its new round of financing, for its appeal of experiential content and direct access to online communities which represents the future of e-commerce.

100 million followers: direct access to a powerful global online community

Free dissemination of quality content has enabled the brand to attract a community of tens of millions of followers. A true Digital Native Vertical Brand (DNVB), Chefclub has built a relationship of trust with its users, who they can consult and involve in the development of their products. Each product is designed based on the tastes of and requests and comments from the online community, expressed at different stages of the creation process.

More than one billion views per month: unrivaled visibility

Unlike traditional DNVBs, however, Chefclub stands out thanks to one key strength. As viewers switch from television to social media, Chefclub promotes its brand and its products via inspirational and amusing video recipes viewed all over the world: in December 2020, more than 50 million Americans and close to 15 million French viewers watched Chefclub’s recipe videos.

And a strategic brand license: “Chefclub by Tefal”

This acquisition is also part of joint efforts which will be stepped up in H1 2021 with the launch of a range of products under the brand license “Chefclub by Tefal”, including skillets, saucepans, kitchen tools and small domestic appliances. Created in collaboration with the Chefclub community, this range combines Chefclub’s expertise in the development of creative recipes with Tefal’s sustainable design for simple products to make cooking easier. It will be launched shortly in France and internationally (Germany, Brazil, Italy, South Korea, Canada, Spain, the UK and Mexico), and will be sold via all offline and online channels as well as directly to customers (DtoC) on the Tefal and Chefclub websites.

The new brand “Chefclub by Tefal” benefits from unprecedented visibility on social networks and will broaden Groupe SEB’s reach, particularly with Millennials, who are discovering or rediscovering the joys of cooking thanks to the start-up’s content. By joining forces with Groupe SEB, world reference for small domestic appliances, Chefclub has access to recognized industrial expertise, the renown of the Tefal brand and a broader retail network which will enable its community to discover its products via the Group’s retail channels.

Spectrum Brands Holdings Strong sales

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Spectrum Brands was propelled to strong sales and earnings in its fiscal first quarter with help from steep holiday season gains from small kitchen appliances and personal care appliances.

Spectrum’s Home & Personal Care group posted net sales of  $378.5 million during the quarter ended January 3, 2021, a 17.5% increase over the $322.1 million in sales from the group in the year-earlier period.

Operating income during the quarter from the group, which markets small appliances under such brands as George Foreman, Black & Decker and Remington, registered $36.7 million, compared to $23.7 million for the year-earlier period.

Spectrum reported holiday sales growth from the small appliance group was particularly strong in the Americas, adding high growth from e-commerce was a driving factor.

Electrolux posts 4Q beat on home-improvement boom

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Electrolux AB on Tuesday posted a forecast-beating fourth-quarter net profit as customers continued to allocate more of their household budgets to home improvement, but cautioned that visibility this year remains limited.

The Swedish home-appliance manufacturer posted net profit of 1.86 billion Swedish kronor ($220.7 million) in the quarter, up from SEK560 million last year, as sales rose 5.9% to SEK33.9 billion.

LG ANNOUNCES 2020 FINANCIAL RESULTS

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LG Electronics Inc. (LG) announced a strong year with 2020 revenues of KRW 63.26 trillion (USD 56.45 billion) and record-setting operating profit of KRW 3.20 trillion (USD 2.85 billion), an increase of 31.1 percent over 2019, driven primarily by higher sales of premium home appliances and OLED TVs as well as strong growth in vehicle component solutions.

Sales in the fourth quarter of KRW 18.78 trillion (USD 16.76 billion) grew 16.9 percent from the same period of 2019 and were 11 percent higher than the previous quarter. Despite the impact of COVID-19, the quarter’s operating profit of KRW 650.20 billion (USD 580.19 million) increased significantly by 539 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

While COVID-19 and slow economic recovery remain concerns for 2021, LG expects the global economy to normalize under the sound fiscal policies of world governments and the successful implementation of vaccinations. In 2021, core technologies such as AI, 5G, IoT and mobility will be widely applied to various LG business areas.

The LG Home Appliance & Air Solution Company ended another healthy year with record 2020 revenues of KRW 22.27 trillion (USD 19.87 billion), an increase of 3.5 percent increase from the previous year, and operating profit of KRW 2.35 trillion (USD 2.10 billion), another record. Results reflect increased sales of new appliance categories and the home appliance rental business in South Korea. Fourth-quarter revenue of KRW 5.54 trillion (USD 4.94 billion) was the highest fourth quarter in the company’s history, an increase of 20 percent year-on-year with double digit growth in South Korea, North America and Europe.

The LG Home Entertainment Company reported 2020 revenues of KRW 13.18 trillion (USD 11.76 billion) and operating profit of KRW 969.70 billion (USD 865.29 million), a 22.9 percent increase over the previous year. Sales in the quarter of KRW 4.28 trillion (USD 3.82 billion) were 7.9 percent higher than the fourth quarter of 2019 and up 16.7 percent from the previous quarter. Quarterly operating profit of KRW 204.50 billion (USD 182.48 million) reflected increased sales in North America and Europe.

The LG Mobile Communications Company announced full-year 2020 revenues of KRW 5.22 trillion (USD 4.66 billion). Fourth-quarter sales of KRW 1.39 trillion (USD 1.24 billion) were 4.9 percent higher than the same quarter of 2019 but 9.2 percent lower than the previous quarter due to shortages of 4G chipsets and sluggish sales of premium smartphones in overseas markets. The full-year operating loss totaled KRW 841.20 billion (USD 750.63 million), reflecting increased marketing investments to support flagship devices, partially offset by fixed cost reductions due to manufacturing efficiencies.

The LG Vehicle Component Solutions Company reported sales in 2020 of KRW 5.80 trillion (USD 5.18 billion), growth of 6.1 percent over 2019. Revenues in the fourth quarter of KRW 1.91 trillion (USD 1.71 billion) were 41.3 percent higher than the same quarter the previous year driven in large part by the recovery of demand in key automotive markets including North America and Europe and higher sales from new projects. The modest fourth-quarter operating loss of KRW 2 billion (USD 1.78 million) improved year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter due to sales increases aligned with the recovery of market demand in the second half, as well as improved cost management.

The LG Business Solutions Company achieved 2020 revenues of KRW 6.01 trillion (USD 5.36 billion) with an operating profit of KRW 457.88 billion (USD 408.51 million) due to demand growth for IT products related to remote working and online learning. Fourth-quarter sales of KRW 1.51 trillion (USD 1.35 billion) were 4.8 percent higher than the same period of 2019, while quarterly operating profit was KRW 70.30 billion (USD 62.73 million), lower than the previous year due higher prices for major components and global logistic costs. The market for information displays is expected to improve as global demand recovers while demand for IT products continues to grow. The company’s solar module business is expected to improve with increased demand for renewable energy in major developed markets.