Think Appliances, owner and distributor of the Baumatic, Venini and Damani brands, has been sold to Home Appliances. This announcement comes after weeks of industry speculation about the future of Baumatic.
Sources close to the acquisition have confirmed that “at this stage, Think Appliances will operate as a separate division within Home Appliances”.
Home Appliances currently distributes the Euromaid, IAG and ARC cooking brands and is owned by the publicly listed McPherson’s, which also owns Wiltshire, Stanley Rogers, Lady Jayne and Multix, among other brands.
“We are delighted to welcome the Think Appliances team,” said Home Appliances managing director Owen Morgan. “As partners, I believe we can deliver outstanding products and service to our customers backed by first class brands.
“This is an exciting next step for Home Appliances backed by such a well-respected consumer group in McPherson’s”.
Although Home Appliances and McPherson’s are referring to its acquisition as ‘Think Appliances’, that company itself attempted a re-brand earlier in the year, sending out a release saying it was now called Baumatic Appliances.
“Congratulations to the Home Appliance team on this exciting development,” said McPherson’s managing director Paul Maguire. “The acquisition of Think Appliances is a strategic building block in creating a world class appliance business with combined sales of $100 million in 2014.”
According to Home Appliances, Think Appliances was transacting $35 million in sales annually. Its Baumatic brand is most closely associated with The Good Guys, where it had become a de facto house brand, though it had sought to widen its distribution in recent months. Industry sources say its inability to successfully move into other retail groups has influenced this decision.
“This is a strategic investment for Home Appliances that will facilitate further penetration of the retail market place, allow its entry into the plumbing sector and the acquisition of a significant number of ‘tier one’ homebuilders,” said a Home Appliances spokesperson. “Substantial synergies exist in bringing the two business together in areas such as purchasing and logistics that delivery substantial value to shareholders.”
Having flown under the radar with its Euromaid brand for the past few years, Home Appliances has been making a large splash with industry events nationwide in support of Euromaid’s ’54 Project’, which is targeting the entry level cooker market previously dominated by Electrolux’s Chef and Westinghouse brands.