Samsung banks on the pandemic induced demand for home appliances

By Rahul Vaimal, Associate Editor
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Samsung Electronics
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The corona virus pandemic has fueled demand for home appliances especially for those products that help in keeping houses clean.

Eyeing this opportunity, South Korea based Samsung Electronics is taking its popular products and adding warehouses to more markets.

From closet sanitizers to customizable fridges, the demand list is huge as the pandemic continues to make the people safety conscious.

Houses that once relied on maids are now investing in dishwashers and robot vacuum cleaners in Brazil and other developing economies, while Samsung says its overseas air purifier sales jumped more than five times in January-July compared to the same time frame last year.

Samsung’s AirDresser, a wardrobe that steam cleans clothes and kills bacteria, saw a spike in sales with British furniture company Lux Group ordering 1,000 of them earlier this year.

Big fridges are also enjoying an increase in popularity as people cooking at home more often are looking for more freezer space.

The firm said Samsung’s appliance business factories in the US, Mexico, Poland, India and other countries have been running at full capacity and the company is now looking for more warehouse space in the US, South Korea and Europe.

The multinational brand says that many buyers are eager to spend money, that they would otherwise have been spending on vacations and leisure sports, to improve their home interiors.

Samsung’s “Bespoke” refrigerators in its home market have pushed its fridge sales up 30 percent from the same time a year ago in the first half. The fridges, which come in a wide variety of compartment sizes, panel styles and colors that can be mixed and matched, have been introduced this year in China and Russia and will be available from October in northern Europe.

Samsung does not report earnings from home appliances, but according to sources, its home appliance unit produced an operating profit of $284.48 million in the April-June period, up about 30 percent from the previous year.

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