Smeg Australia managing director, Jimmy Kalotheos has re-enforced that although his highest priority remains the health and safety of the company’s family – staff, consumers at home and retail partners – the virus continues to impact the business in several ways.

“During isolation Smeg consumers are using their appliances more than ever,” he said in a statement shared with Appliance Retailer.

“Our customer service team has seen a significant increase in enquiries, responding to functionality questions with ovens and coffee machines the stand outs, as well as cleaning and maintenance queries across all our categories, indicating increased usage.

“Our national field team of service technicians have also been kept very busy, both on the road and digitally, responding to technical questions such as cleaning dishwasher filters and pyrolytic cleaning, also signs that our consumers are putting their Smeg appliances through their paces more than ever.

“Although most of our national network of showrooms remain closed for the time being, we are offering virtual tours for anyone embarking on a renovation, looking to update their appliances or simply seeking functional assistance with their Smeg appliances. Our showroom sales team can be contacted via showme@smeg.com.au to book a virtual face-to-face experience, which very closely emulates an in-person experience, to discuss their requirements.

“The national network of distribution centres remains fully operational with measures in place such as team splitting, hygiene and social distancing to continue to service our retail partners as we’ve always done. Supply of both major and small domestic appliances from our international factories remains constant.  We are seeing a definite spike in small appliance sales, especially in our ever-growing coffee offering which now includes a coffee grinder and milk frother to accompany the espresso and drip coffee machines.

“Our sales teams also continue to support our retail partners with stock enquiries and orders, both face-to-face and digitally.”

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Smeg’s best-selling Classic aesthetic and to coincide with this milestone, Smeg will launch a new collection across the built-in category with significant technological and functionality improvements.

“I am pleased to confirm that even with face-to-face restrictions, our sales and marketing teams have been actively working in the background to ensure retail displays are updated and marketing materials developed in keeping with this significant aesthetic release.”

On a final note, Kalotheos said, “I would like to sincerely thank our staff and retail partners for their continued support. Please keep safe and well.”