Exclusive Interview
Exclusive Interview Success Breeds Succe Major Triumph for Bauknecht at IFA in 2014 prompts Jens-Christoph Bidlingmaier General Manager of Bauknecht Hausgeräte GmbH & Indesit Company Deutschland GmbH At last year’s IFA, the Whirlpool group’s “German arm” – Bauknecht home appliances – took part in the show for the first time, to “test the waters”. The trial was, according to Bauknecht / Indesit CEO Jens-Christoph Bidlingmaier, a major success – as the entire global group is participating this year. We were proud of the fact that Bauknecht could be at IFA first for this big company, really showing that IFA could be a success story. We were well prepared going into IFA last year. We trained all the people from sales and marketing about how best to leverage IFA, how to approach our customers, and above all, how to get the orders. It’s nice to go to IFA and show the products, but in the end you have to invoice! So you signed a lot of deals at the show? Yes. It’s an image show, it’s a product show, and it’s also an order fair. The result was amazing. It was so fantastic, and people were very enthusiastic. Within the team, the mindset totally changed. They were so positive – and we saw the results in the figures coming in from GfK in October, November and December, and this was great to see. Also the first four months of this year, 28
Exclusive Interview ss Whirlpool group’s presence in 2015 we have been exceeding forecasts with excellent growth. So this year, the Whirlpool group is here, based on this performance? They saw clearly what we had done at IFA and were impressed by the number of orders that were signed. The senior management of the company in North America and EMEA were also impressed also by the international scope of IFA. With all the players in the market, it’s more than just selling products; it’s being in the heart of the “consumer lifestyle” world. They saw that IFA is where you have to be especially when you would like to be a big player in Europe. So they decided to invest, and now we have 3,200 square metres exhibition space compared to 800 last year: four times more. It makes us proud in Germany that the company decided to come over with its five brands, Whirlpool, Bauknecht, Indesit, Hotpoint and KitchenAid in hall 9 stand 101. You had a big announcement at the recent Berlin pre-IFA press briefing with the introduction of the connected range and the BLive application that goes with it. Please tell us more. First of all, to explain this very clearly: for us, the product remains central. The product must have an added value for our consumer. The added value of a washing machine is firstly that you would like to wash, and with a dryer you would like to dry. Connectivity is good to have and should also add value for the consumer. So at IFA this year we are showing our first approach with four products. Our latest model in cooling comes with connectivity. get training via the app, with explanations on how to use the equipment. What is the “Platinum Programme”? This programme for retailers, along the “Passion Concept” for kitchen specialists is an exclusive programme where we have defined a different product portfolio over all categories. The customer has to sign a contract and fulfil some requirements, such as undergoing training, PoS presentations and so on. It’s not a contract that is very complex. It’s a onepager with ten points on both sides. In the past, the programme was very restricted. Now we would like it to become more open, but we have to be sure to find the right customers playing It’s an image show, it’s a product show, and it’s also an order fair. The result was amazing FIRST TIME AT IFA FOR WHIRLPOOL Bauknecht, the German flagship brand of Whirlpool, was present at IFA for the first time last year. This year the entire Whirlpool group is present with major and small domestic appliances. The brand will be launching a totally new range of major appliances at IFA. Hotpoint, with 40% market share in the UK, will be demonstrating a broad range of small appliances. According to Jens-Christoph Bidlingmaier, “There are a lot of new product developments and ranges that you have not seen before. Some major innovations for the kitchen will be released at the show.” What are your strongest zones in Europe? Italy is very strong, as it is the home of Indesit as well as the group’s EMEA headquarters. The UK is very strong with Hotpoint. In Russia we have Whirlpool, Indesit and also Bauknecht. In Poland we are a number one player, and of course there is France. So those are the biggest countries. When it comes to brands, Whirlpool is playing primarily in southern European countries, while Bauknecht is more in the German speaking countries and northern Europe, including Benelux. It’s a dual no-frost fridgefreezer, with two separate processors. We are also presenting connected washing machine, dryer and dishwasher. You also with Platinum in the retail sector or passion in the kitchen sector. We are open to discussions from the trade, but we will still not offer this to everyone. Bauknecht Connectivity Range www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday 31 st August 2015 29
