Sold 1,400 units a day… Like Lego,’pasted refrigerator’

Sold 1,400 units a day… Like Lego,’pasted refrigerator’

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Yang Hye-soon, executive director of Samsung Electronics' Household Appliances Division, is posing in front of'Bispork Refrigerator'. [사진 삼성전자]

Yang Hye-soon, executive director of Samsung Electronics’ Household Appliances Division, is posing in front of’Bispork Refrigerator’. [사진 삼성전자]

Last year, the consumer electronics (CE) division of Samsung Electronics generated sales of 48.17 trillion won and operating profit of 3.5 trillion won. This is the highest grade ever. This is because the demand for home appliances increased a lot as the time in the house increased in the aftermath of Corona 19. On the one hand, it was popular with custom-made high-end home appliances.

Interview with Yang Hye-soon, the organizer of Samsung Bespoke
“I choose as many wallpaper and tiles as I want, but the household appliances are all in one piece.”
Built-in refrigerator, door orientation can be replaced
750,000 units sold in 18 months of refrigerator launch

The number one contributor is the’Bespoke’ product line. It is said that it brought a fresh breeze to the refrigerator, which has been synonymous with white home appliances. The possibility of customized design has shaken the coma market as well as the demand for replacement of expensive home appliances targeting the 50s and 70s. On the 25th of last month, I met Yang Hye-soon, the director of the Consumer Experience Team of Samsung Electronics’ Home Appliances Division, at the Suwon business site of Samsung Electronics.

Bespoke home appliance shipments exceeded 1 million units by December last year.
“More than 75% of 1 million units were refrigerators. It seems that only 1,400 refrigerators were sold every day. In Korea, the number of households is around 20 million, and the refrigerator replacement cycle is an average of 10 years. So he said that it was a success if he sold hundreds of thousands of refrigerators a year. Bespoke refrigerators were launched in June 2019 and shipped more than 750,000 units in 19 months until December of last year, which is a very unusual record.”

It pioneered the field of’interior home appliances’. I am curious about the starting point of the idea.
“(Laughing) It’s about moving things. I just moved in early 2019 when I was preparing for Bespoke. Interest in interiors increased as they were decorating a new house. However, a difficult problem arose. You can change wallpaper, flooring, tiles, and even furniture to your liking, but it was blocked by home appliances. The kitchen was decorated in white and wood tones, but black induction had to be installed. In addition, a refrigerator that was “suddenly popped out” in the kitchen was annoying. At this time, the result of my concern is’kitchen fit’.”

What exactly is a kitchen fit?
“When the existing refrigerator is put in the storage space (refrigerator) of the kitchen, space is left vaguely to the side of the cabinet, and the refrigerator door protrudes, making it uncomfortable to see. Kitchen fit is a concept in which a refrigerator cabinet and a refrigerator are integrated. At first glance, it looks like a built-in wardrobe because it is a custom size. Here, the color and material of the refrigerator door panel can be directly selected by the consumer, and it can be replaced later. Then, it was word of mouth as’home appliance expressing my own taste’. Among the younger generation, it is popular to purchase a Bespoke refrigerator, dishwasher, induction, etc. at once to make their own “Bespoke Kitchen” and post it on social media (SNS).”
A kitchen decorated with Samsung Bespoke appliances. Refrigerators, dishwashers, etc. are included as a'kitchen fit' that closely matches the kitchen furniture. [사진 삼성전자]

A kitchen decorated with Samsung Bespoke appliances. Refrigerators, dishwashers, etc. are included as a’kitchen fit’ that closely matches the kitchen furniture. [사진 삼성전자]

However, it is unlikely that they will replace an expensive refrigerator just because they are pretty.
“It was known as a’pretty refrigerator’, but the core of Bespoke is modularity. The two-door refrigerator I used to live alone is fine. Should I throw this away and buy a new four-door refrigerator after marriage? Bespoke can be used by attaching two refrigerators like Lego. In addition, by adjusting the internal controller of the refrigerator, it is possible to change its use for storing kimchi, alcohol, and rice, respectively. You can change the material and color of the refrigerator door as well as the direction in which the door opens.”

Among the Bespoke lines, new products such as’Cube Refrigerator’ and’The Plate Induction’ also stand out.
“I got an idea from an employee survey. When asked about the refrigerator, an opinion came out saying, “I don’t want to share a liquor store (meaning that I put a lot of alcohol) with my father,” and “I need a refrigerator for cosmetics. At this time, the air purifier came into my eyes, but I thought it would be pretty if I empty it and change it to a refrigerator. They also said,’I have a home party, and the portable gas burner is not pretty.’ That’s why they came up with a prettier and more convenient electric grill type induction.”

“The response came from within. Employees in their 20s and 30s have been saying,’It would be uncomfortable without it’ even before launch. So in the early days, they chose a different marketing method instead of TV advertising. Cube refrigerators were distributed through crowdfunding favored by young people. We collected 260 million won for a week and achieved our goal of 620%.”

Bespoke clothing management device launched by Samsung Electronics on the 2nd. [사진 삼성전자]

Bespoke clothing management device launched by Samsung Electronics on the 2nd. [사진 삼성전자]

Can Bespoke’s solo performance continue this year? What is your strategy to differentiate yourself from competitors?
“Bespoke is not an interior home appliance, but a’lifestyle home appliance.’ It expands and changes according to changes in life patterns such as living alone, getting married, having children, and living with parents. This is a powerful advantage that cannot be caught up only by design. The future of Bespoke is smart home appliances. It will evolve more conveniently by combining hardware with artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT).”

Suwon = Reporter Hyungsoo Park [email protected]


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