French Door refrigeration has seen a great deal of growth in recent months as Australians with plenty of space in the kitchen look for appliances that offer more room to store food, and refrigerators that are geared towards entertaining.

According to GfK research for January to July this year, the total refrigeration market grew by 4 per cent in terms of units, and grew 8 per cent in value (compared to the same period in 2012).

Within this, however, the French door segment grew by 47 per cent in unit sales year-on-year, and value grew by 51 per cent. French door refrigerators also accounted for 20 per cent of category value for January to July this year. On the whole, large capacities continue to win over consumers, with 700 litre-and-above refrigerators the largest segment in terms of value.

Taking advantage of the increasing demand in the French door space is Andi-Co, which distributes the Liebherr brand — the only brand to offer a fully integrated French door refrigerator in Australia (ECBN6256, RRP $13,999).

The 585-litre model incorporates Liebherr’s patented BioFresh technology, designed to keep produce fresher for longer, and also features twin compressors and LED lighting throughout.

According to Andi-Co’s national brand manager for Liebherr, Brett Lane, the brand is “leading the way” in integrated refrigeration by offering products that suit consumers’ needs and their style.

Integrated appliances will continue to become more popular as peoples individuality and style requirements come forward.

In 2014 we will see Liebherr launch a new generation of 60-centimetre Integrated models to the Australian market. With the recent introduction of the 75-centimetre and 91-centimetre models, consumers now have the flexibility of choices that no other manufacturer delivers. Liebherr will continue to focus on the high end market and bring in innovative premium refrigeration just like our integrated under bench units that are unique to the Australian market.

Liebherr is not just using its products to differentiate itself in the whitegoods space — Andi-Co has also worked to establish a number of shop-in-shop displays to present the brand’s “premium” appliance range, according to Lane:

We focus on presenting our products at the highest level of quality in our shop-in-shop [SIS] displays which allows the retailer to take the customer into a journey of free standing and fully integrated products. We take pride in positioning our SIS to create the atmosphere of having a premium kitchen within a store environment.

Most refrigeration products are displayed in endless and narrow rows. With the SIS concept we create a different buying experience that shows off the products full potential. Apart from the aesthetic appeal of the Liebherr displays, we encourage our retailers to immerse themselves in to the products and become educated with our assistance so they are able to sell not only the product but what the product stands for.