New York — Samsung Electronics America is pulling out all the stops to herald its largest ever majap line introduction in the U.S.
The three-month-long retail rollout, now nearing completion, encompasses every major white-goods category, home appliances senior VP Kevin Dexter told TWICE. “We’ll be fully floored up and conducting business by the second half,” he said.
The products were first introduced to the trade at International CES in January, and include the Samsung Chef Collection, a suite of premium kitchen appliances designed in collaboration with Michelin star-rated chefs from around the world. Celebrity chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud is the latest culinary authority to join the company’s Club des Chefs advisory group.
Other line highlights include the Food Showcase refrigerator — in French door and side-by-side configurations — which features an exterior door compartment for frequently used items and a metal cooling plate to help maintain consistent temperatures, and the 9000 laundry series, boasting the industry’s largest capacity top-load laundry pair and a 30-minute SuperSpeed cycle in the front-load configuration.
Garnering perhaps the most retail attention is Samsung’s innovative WaterWall dishwasher from the Chef Collection, which uses a linear-path rather than rotary spray arm for more complete cleansing coverage within the cavity.
Dexter said the massive introduction supports Samsung president/CEO BK Yoon’s goal of becoming the world’s largest majap maker by revenue by 2015. “Our CEO has taken a personal interest in home appliances and our global and local businesses continue to invest in our product portfolio on the path to acceleration,” he noted. “We have to introduce products at a pace that will support our growth. It’s great to be in the middle of connecting with consumers.”
In the U.S., Samsung is positioned as a premium mass-market brand with an emphasis on style, design and innovation. The new introductions will be promoted by what the company described as its largest-ever integrated marketing campaign for majaps, including six TV spots, circulars and national print ads, and social media.
Samsung is also showcasing the new appliance line this week before press and social “influencers” at a temporary “innovation and design center” in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.
Looking ahead, Dexter said he is optimistic about industry performance in the back half of the year following a challenging, weather-impacted start.
“Business has been coming back,” he said. “The homebuilding sector has been steady; discretionary income is okay; the consumer mood is confident; we’re entering a replacement cycle; and there’s been a lot of pent-up demand since the 2008 downturn.”
