Global Appliances Giant Electrolux's Centennial Story

PConline Brand Culture In China, the world’s largest producer of home appliances, there are many home appliance manufacturers, quality gaps, and fierce market price changes. In this market, most of the market share is occupied by domestic brands. They rely on comprehensive production lines and the low-cost effects brought about by mass production, which firmly attracts the attention of consumers. Brands can only “eat for food” in mid-to-high-end markets by virtue of their brand reputation accumulated in long-term operations. For such a market dominated by “arboreal snakes”, there is little room for foreign brands to develop. However, there is an international brand adhering to the philosophy of “no late marketer”. In 1996, it firmly entered the Chinese market. It is the world’s largest household. Electric company Electrolux.

Electrolux Co., Ltd. is a world-renowned electrical equipment manufacturing company. It is the world's largest manufacturer of kitchen equipment, cleaning and washing equipment and outdoor appliances. It is also the world's largest manufacturer of commercial appliances. Founded in Sweden in 1919, it is a merger of Lux Ltd. and Elektromekaniska Ltd., headquartered in Stockholm. It is currently manufactured in more than 60 countries and sells a variety of electrical products in 160 countries.

Such a household appliance giant, Electrolux's electrical appliances into millions of households, continue to provide people with high-quality use of the experience, before telling the brand story, take the time as a clue to take everyone to understand Electrolux's major historical events .

Electrolux's major historical events:

In 1901, Lux Co., Ltd. was established in Stockholm to produce Lux light, which is a kerosene lamp for outdoor use. This light was later used on lighthouses around the world.

After the merger of Elektromekaniska GmbH and Lux ​​GmbH in 1919, Electrolux was established.

In 1930, the first closet-type refrigerator was produced. This is a micro-fridge for a modern family room.

In 1950, it began producing floor polishers and vacuum cleaners in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The first box-type freezer and the first compression refrigerator were produced in 1956. The Group’s sales have exceeded SEK 500 million.

In 1973, Facit Corporation, which produced typewriters for office use, was acquired and production of kitchen and bathroom cabinets began. In the following year, Electrolux acquired the National Union Electric/Eureka Co., Ltd. of the United States, which laid a solid foundation in the North American market.

The acquisition of Zanussi in Italy in 1984 made Electrolux the world leader in the undisputed consumer electronics market. It also won the first place in the world for its restaurant equipment. In the Far East, including Oceania, sales of various products also performed gratifyingly.

In 1994 Electrolux Group celebrated its 75th anniversary with annual sales of over 100 billion Swedish kronor and acquired one of Europe’s largest home appliance manufacturing companies: AEG Hausgerate.

In 1997, Electrolux Home Products entered China. In 1998, it successfully launched a series of refrigerator products. Sales increased by 300% in only half a year. The market share ranks sixth in the country, brand awareness is 32%, and the marketing network spreads throughout China.

In 1998, the first fully automatic intelligent vacuum cleaner was launched. The first brand new OZ "Penguin" refrigerator, the "Big Eyes" ZOE washing machine, and the OZ "Penguin" refrigerator were awarded the Industrial Design Award in the same year.

For Electrolux's development, we can divide it into two parts: before entering China and after entering China. Before entering China, the well-known Electrolux has been the world's oldest professional manufacturer of home appliances for almost 100 years. The history of Electrolux can be traced back to the production of vacuum cleaners, the invention of refrigerators and the talent of market development - Elk Wingellin.

Elk Wingellin invented the world's first household vacuum cleaner Electrolux 1 in 1912; the first Electrolux refrigerator was introduced in 1925. Since then, Electrolux has established itself as one of the world's leading manufacturers of household appliances.

The World's First Vacuum Cleaner: Electrolux One

In the following 70 years Electrolux acquired and merged nearly 400 home appliance manufacturers and brands, catering services facilities, garden equipment and become a professional home appliance manufacturer, the world's largest home appliance industry manufacturers. With 100,000 employees, annual sales exceed RMB 138 billion. Each year, more than 60 million Electrolux Group products cover the world, and 350 million households worldwide own or use Electrolux’s home appliances. Electrolux is the world's largest producer of kitchen equipment, cleaning and washing equipment and outdoor appliances. Its products include refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, stoves, chainsaws, weeders and home micro tractors. It is also the world’s largest producer of commercial appliances. Business. Each year, Electrolux has 55 million home and commercial appliances sold in more than 150 countries around the world. Some of the well-known electrical brands under the Electrolux Group include AEG, Electrolux, Zanussi, Frigidaire, Arcadia, Eureka and Husqvarna.

Compared to other foreign electronics giants that had been in the Chinese market for an early period, Electrolux was only able to describe it as late. In the early 1990s, the competition in the home appliance market in China was already fierce. In terms of refrigerators alone, there were 116 refrigerator manufacturers in China in 1985. By the early 1990s, there were more than 50 left, and even some joint ventures could not be eliminated. fate. Although Electrolux adhering to the business philosophy of the market is not late, has great confidence in entering the Chinese home appliance market, but it is not optimistic about the timing of its entry.

At that time, the domestic market was occupied by 71.9% of the market share by the "four diamonds."

Perhaps the standardized marketing strategies and theories formed by mature markets in the west have met with the so-called “acceptable” issues. Perhaps these transnational corporations have encountered a real sense of strategic transformation and mistakes in understanding. The Chinese market has been in the beginning. Giving Electrolux a lower jaw, he lost 60 million in three years after entering the company, and he was keen on the price war and blind expansion, which greatly damaged the high-end image of Electrolux, a European brand.

Electrolux’s Chinese official website is such a very warm ad

As the so-called "information can improve moda", in front of such a tough domestic rival, Electrolux has carefully designed a full-fledged marketing strategy based on its target consumer group characteristics and product style. As an entry point into China's tens of millions of households. Electrolux pointed out that "the noise of the refrigerator you have to bear is not a day, two days, but ten years, fifteen years ...", "so that you can depend on each other for a lifetime, so that you can let you see day and night No.” In addition to making Chinese consumers feel warm and sincere, this kind of affectionate marketing language has also been recognized for its brand image and product image—“Mute” is the personality of Electrolux. style. In fact, Electrolux's respected "quiet" refrigerator is not a product specially designed and manufactured for the Chinese market. It is just using Zanussi's high-efficiency and low-noise compressor, which is the same as the products it offers in other markets around the world. The only difference is that it has succeeded in shaping the kinship image of its products.

Electrolux's sales are being presented at the show for non-clients

To sum up: As the saying goes, “Eating in hardships is a bitter experience. Electrolux can be said to be very familiar with this, marketing strategy to attack the "heart" as the king, neither called "king" nor "hegemony", not to boast, advertising investment is also a low profile, but its brand image and product image But it has an impact on consumers. Today, Electrolux still leads the market in marketing and continues to use the warmth of this entry point to connect emotions with its own products, use products to satisfy people, and use advertisements to impress people, not only expanding market share. What's more important is that the pro-life situation in the consumer has been fully demonstrated. This kind of affection-based image in turn reinforces the brand's superiority and forms a new virtuous circle.