Home Appliances, owner of the Euromaid, Elica, Fagor, Baumatic, IAG and Arc brands, has acquired the Lemair brand. Home Appliances is owned by the publicly traded McPherson’s Limited, which has been aggressively expanding the appliance industry over the past 24 months.
According to legend, Lemair started as a contra trading business with the old USSR. Its Australian owners would send over wool and wheat to the grim Communist nation and would receive vodka and whitegoods in return.
Lemair and Euromaid have quite an overlapping history, which begins in 1992, when Vadim Efremov and Nikolai Khristenko took over the brand through their company, Tecma Lemair Pty Ltd (Khristenko said he couldn’t remember who Efremov and he purchased it from). It was around this time that the original seeds of this acquisition were laid.
Euromaid’s original brand owners in Australia were the Varvaressos family through their company, Electrical Distributors Australia (EDA). The family had links to Efremov and Khristenko throughout this period, including EDA being a sales agent for Lemair from the early 1990s, before selling Euromaid to private equity firm Anacacia Capital in 2009.
Following the sale, Anacacia formed Home Appliances to house Euromaid and the subsequent acquisitions, prior to McPherson’s purchasing a majority share 12 months later.
The brand now has manufacturing out of Southeast Asia and specialises in refrigeration and washing machine products. An internet search reveals that Lemair is currently stocked by Appliances Online, 2nds World and several caravan and camping specialists.
Today Lemair mainly functions as a small refrigeration and washing machine business,” a Home Appliances spokesperson said. “The product range consists of mini washers, chest freezers and bar refrigerators, as well as an upright freezer. Lemair is a brand that works well online and for retailers focusing on value.”
Sources say Home Appliances completed this purchase because its sees strong growth potential in the brand, once it is backed by a strong sales focus. Home Appliances plan to take the brand national, building retail support in all states and broadening the product range.
“The Lemair acquisition continues Home Appliances’ commitment to providing quality products to Australians at prices they can afford,” the spokesperson said.
After intentionally keeping a low profile and ‘flying under the radar’, Home Appliances has been actively trying to raise its brand mindshare over the past year, launching a deep range of 54-centimentre cookers to take on Electrolux’s Westinghouse and Chef business head-on.
Furthermore, late last year, McPherson’s acquired Think Appliances, the Melbourne-based owners of the Baumatic brand, which has traditionally been The Good Guys’ house brand.