CLEAN LIFESTYLE Gorenje
CLEAN LIFESTYLE Gorenje Group Sets Its Sights on Global Expansion Last year, Gorenje Group launched its 2020 strategy, driving business and taking its portfolio of brands into new markets Gorenje Group's Senior Vice President for Corporate Marketing, said the company is looking to grow its business both within Europe and internationally. We asked Mr Vogl what the plans are for the company’s core brands… Gorenje Group is present in around 90 markets, so we can consider Gorenje Group a global player. We currently are a European core player, but according to our 2020 strategy, we want to go even more global; to target China, the Middle East, North Africa and also establish ourselves in the US. What are your plans for the ASKO brand? As a clearly positioned premium brand in the market, over the past two years, we have rolled out ASKO into Italy, France, the Middle East and China. The premium segment is growing and we believe that with our products inspired by Scandinavia, with its cultural heritage and its design attitude, there is a lot of room in those markets for our brand. The ASKO brand plays an important role in our strategy. The next steps include launching ASKO in Germany and the UK, but we want to find the right partners and do it correctly. In Asia, meanwhile, we see a lot of opportunity. We have established around 20 premium ASKO showrooms in China and we will also explore outlets in Hong Kong, Taiwan and other territories. There is a very positive attitude in Asia to European brands. We are ready to share ASKO with the world now. For a long time, ASKO has been in Australia and the US, but we see opportunity there to grow sales of this premium brand. What does the future hold for the Gorenje brand? Currently, 65% of our volume is Gorenje – and the brand is a well-known added value player. We are the number one brand in our home territory and in South-Eastern Europe, but we also have a very good position in Russia. Germany was our first export market in the 1960s. Our Mario Vogl Senior Vice President Corporate Marketing, Gorenje Group WE ARE READY TO SHARE ASKO WITH THE WORLD NOW. plan for Gorenje is to further strengthen the Gorenje brand, not just in Europe, but also internationally too. What are the company’s plans for the small domestic appliances market? Our strategy also includes SDA, which offers two major benefits. The purchase rate of SDAs is higher than MDA, as are growth rates, so we can increase the brand awareness via entering the small appliance market » HALL 1.1 / Stand 201 CORDLESS POWER DRIVES DIRT DEVIL’S EUROPEAN STRATEGY Dirt Devil is looking to consolidate its growing European market share at IFA with several key product launches. Its flagship Dirt Devil Blade – which has already won a Plus X award – will look to cut a swathe into the booming cordless vacuum cleaner market by combining powerful performance, light weight and long battery life. Both 24V and 32V Lithium-Ion battery models are available and offer up to 35 or 45 minutes of continuous running time. “Our focus is on cordless technology,” said Markus Monjau, Managing Director of Sales & Marketing at Royal Appliance International, responsible for the Dirt Devil and VAX brands and part of the broader TTI Group that designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of electrical appliances. “As we belong to TTI, we have leveraged decades of battery technology,” he added. According to Monjau, the Dirt Devil Blade achieves relatively high eco efficiency while not compromising on pick-up power. This is due to new Direct Helix Technology designed for maximum performance and optimised airflow via a horizontal cyclone unit that gives more consistent power. The cordless machine also features an intuitive, user-friendly Smart Control that allows one-touch operation of the various cleaning modes, aNnd includes a clear LED battery display » HALL 5.1 / Stand 103 The versatile Dirt Devil Blade www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Tuesday 5 th September 2017 19
