Exclusive Interview Dr.
Exclusive Interview Dr. Reinhard Zinkann Dr. Reinhard Zinkann is Managing Director and Co-Proprietor of the Miele Group. Dr. Zinkann is also Chairman of the ZVEI Home Appliance Division, the association representing the German electrical and electronics industry. ABOUT MIELE Miele is a world leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances with a turnover of €2.95 billion, a 16,500 workforce and sales subsidiaries and importers in one hundred countries. “Cooking is now an important part of lifestyle. 20 or 30 years ago, the kitchen was a small room away from the living room. Now, the kitchen is a family room” Dr. Reinhard Zinkann Managing Director and Co-Proprietor of the Miele Group Dr. Reinhard Zinkann Miele Managing Director and Co-Proprietor Some markets went very well and some markets had problems. Amongst the markets that went well is Germany and markets that were difficult included Spain, Greece, Portugal and some others. Markets that are recovering are Russia and the US. China and Australia are also doing well, so it is a mixed picture. Is it true to say that in harder times, people look towards high quality goods as a better way to invest their money? Absolutely! We find that in times of insecurity and financial crises, people tend to invest their money more than they usually do in high-end quality goods. In addition, in Central Europe, as in Germany, more houses Forever Better – A Sure Value Robust, resilient, high end and smooth is Miele's world beating recipe As turbulent economic times affect some sectors, Miele is keeping the faith in high-end, quality and durable appliances for the home as buyers look to invest their money more wisely. We asked Miele Managing Director and Co-Proprietor (and Chairman of the ZVEI Home Appliance Division), Dr. Reinhard Zinkann what trends he has noted in the industry over the past year. are being built or are being renovated. That is good for the kitchen cabinet and interior decoration businesses. What are the main trends specifically in kitchen equipment this year? The main trend is user convenience. That requires making the product easy to operate. Nobody likes to read long instruction manuals and everyone wants to understand the product as soon as possible. Another trend is healthy cooking and that means everything to do with steam cooking. High-end products are another trend because cooking is now an important part of lifestyle. 20 or 30 years ago, the kitchen was a small room away from the living room. Now, the kitchen is a family room. What are the trends in clean lifestyle products such as washing machines and dryers? More power and less energy on one side, more convenience and smoothness, meaning a machine is as quiet as possible. A specific trend is a bigger cavity meaning bigger loads. How important is IFA in terms of getting your message across? IFA is the most important trade show for domestic appliances in the world. It is a focus point for the global industry. Bringing brown goods and white goods together is a key success factor for the simple reason that most of the dealers, no matter whether they are small or big, stock brown goods as well as white goods. At the IFA, we inform the dealers and their staff about our products in one location. Global press attendance at IFA is very important. We need the media to carry our positive message about energy consumption and other encouraging trends. Last but not least, it is an “ordertaking” trade show, so we generate a good volume of orders as well. Hall 2.1 Stand 101 Angel Juicer “We make the highest quality juicer on the market…” For the first time at IFA, Angel Co. from Korea presents a professional, high-end, home use juicer that compresses healthy, high enzyme juices from fruit and vegetables. Already selling in 28 countries, this elegant, high-quality stainless machine comes in consumer and commercial models, is entirely metal with no plastic parts, and employs the world’s first twin-gear system for high-yield extraction of nutritional juice packed with life-giving enzymes and minerals. “We make the highest quality juicer on the market. The juice produced is 5-17 times more nutritious than from conventional blade or single screw juicers,” says Kwang Lee, Manager of Angel, the company with 30 years of experience specialized in juicers. Lee looks forward to meeting buyers at the Angel Juicer stand 105 at Hall 7.1b www.angel-juicer.com 18
Exclusive Interview Max Conze Max Conze is Dyson’s CEO. Max was formerly President of Dyson USA, joining last year from Procter and Gamble, where he had stints in Germany, Britain, China and America. He has led a significant improvement in market share and profits during his time with Dyson. Max shares James Dyson's faith in young talent and brings with him the energy and expertise to grow Dyson to a multi billion pound organisation. Max read Business Administration at Abbott Turner School of Business, Columbus State University, USA, and served as a lieutenant in the German Army in the early 90s. He is married with two children and lives with the family in the UK. The DC 45 Animal The DC45 has a fade-free nickel cobalt manganese battery with 20 minutes run time. While other cordless vacuums may claim to have longer run time, many struggle with cleaning tasks – losing power and suction as soon as you start using them. Dyson Digital Slim vacuums are, according to Dyson, the most power efficient cordless vacuums. The Dyson digital motor, fade-free battery and Root Cyclone technology combine to ensure that DC45 maintains powerful, constant suction. Such on from the moment you start to the moment you finish. We’ve Only Just Begun Dyson’s new CEO heads up a company that continues to grow rapidly Max Conze tells IFA International how he intends to maintain Dyson’s amazing progress as a global brand through strategic investment, as well as his plans for the Chinese market… You've been CEO for nearly six months now, what have been the most important changes or tweaks you've made on the R&D/manufacturing side? “In total Dyson will be adding 300 new graduate roles in engineering, marketing, sales, operations and finance. ” Dyson was already a successful technology company, before I started my role, but we’re ambitious, we want to continue to grow. We are a young company and we still have a lot to achieve. So to meet our ambitions we need more people. In the past two years 250 new engineers joined the Dyson Head Quarters in the UK, and this year we are looking for at least another 150 new, bright minds. In total Dyson will be adding 300 new graduate roles in engineering, marketing, sales, operations and finance. This growing team of engineers is working on technology that is five or ten years away from being ready for the market; and with £1.5m invested into R&D every week that technology is constantly improving. It's your first IFA as CEO, what are you hoping for from your visit and what do you plan to do while there? I am really happy to go to IFA because it’s the world’s leading fair for home appliances and consumer electronics, to support our team in making sure that our technology is seen at its very best – especially our new Dyson Digital Slim DC45. What are your financial targets for 2012? Despite the recession we have had our third successive record breaking year; with a turnover of more than £1 billion for the first time in 2011. Dyson’s growth is the result of new technology, including the Dyson Hot fan heater, alongside increased market share and strong exports. In 2012 we are anticipating 200% growth again based on new technologies such as those presented here at IFA. You were quoted as saying that Latin America is one of your target regions. Would you consider going down the Apple route and opening a factory in Brazil or another LatAm country? We are an international company. Dyson is in 52 countries, and 85% of our machines are sold outside the UK, compared to just 30% only five years ago. On top of that we have ambitious growth plans. However, before Latin America, the next chapter will unfold in China beginning this autumn as Dyson plans its launch in Shanghai and Beijing. We will be selling our machines in eight major retailers and that is our priority. Please tell us more about your working relationship with James Dyson... James’ story is compelling because he is driven by frustration. Many of us have experienced the annoyance of having something that doesn’t work properly, and James and our engineers set out to solve these problems. One person may come up with the idea, but the development – experimenting, making mistakes, and prototyping – are shared by the team. It’s an ambitious company, and it’s exciting to see James and the engineers calling the shots when it comes to new machines. How important is IFA in terms of global marketing for you? IFA is a perfect opportunity to get in touch not only with retailers but also with consumers, both German and international. It is an exciting place to talk about Dyson and to show our latest technologies. People need to know why Dyson machines, our vacuum cleaner, our Air Multiplier fans and our Airblade hand dryer are more effective than other products and we are utilising the platform IFA has offered us. Hall 4.1 Stand 204 Max Conze Dyson CEO www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Wednesday 5 th September 2012 19
