OZ Appliance Market Facing Shake Up As Sunbeam Cut Products & De Longhi Come Under Pressure
Shortly the Ariete range of appliances will be launched in Australia by Tempo distribution with several leading appliance retailers set to range the De Longhi owned brand. Several products sold as Kenwood in Australia are re badged Ariete products.
According to sources the local operation of De Longhi is facing up to a 20% downturn in their coffee category.
De’Longhi’s 2001 acquisition of the British appliance maker Kenwood Limited gave De’Longhi access to Kenwood’s Chinese factories, As a result, many of De’Longhi’s products are now imported from China, while design and engineering remain largely in Italy.
DeLonghi was hit when the decision was made to let arch rival Breville start selling Espresso products which had been exclusive to the Italian Company.
In other moves, several appliance resellers who recently got a visit from senior Sunbeam management have reported that the GUD Holdings subsidiary is set to drop several “unprofitable” products with the Company set to focus on few products which deliver “profits” for the Company.
Back in January GUD Holdings management said that they were set to raise prices for Sunbeam appliances.
The Company said that the Sunbeam business which pulled down the Companies overall results.
GUD’s underlying net profit fell 31.4 per cent to $14.9 million in the December half, and earnings before interest and tax plunged 27 per cent to $24 million after profits from the Dexion storage business and Sunbeam appliance business fell 86 per cent.
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