De’Longhi saw increased volumes across coffee, food preparation, and seasonal in December versus the same period in 2019, as consumers continued investing in the home.
“Air treatment also saw good growth due to a combination of people staying and working from home as well as a wetter season,” De’Longhi Australia CEO, Paolo Albertoni told Appliance Retailer.
“The extended accelerated demand has continued to put some strain on stock availability but fortunately, we have a stronghold over our entire logistics chain from factory to store and have been able to manage effectively, fulfilling our commitments. This trend seems to be continuing in the first weeks of January.”
Christmas trade was strong for Groupe SEB with steady growth across all categories throughout the last quarter of 2020.
“Linen care bounced back in December and January, and all kitchen appliances continued to perform exceptionally well, particularly air fryers and grills,” Groupe SEB Australia managing director, Joe Tizzone said.
“Our new Optigrill Elite received a lot of interest, driven by a digital campaign and a well-received consumer promotion – one of our most popular promotions to date.
“Supply remained tight throughout the period, we did have some out-of-stocks and back-orders, but we managed our inventory carefully to ensure fair distribution. Stock will remain challenging in the coming months, but we are working closely with our factories and retail partners to improve visibility and supply for the months ahead.
“We are optimistic about 2021 with the continuation of the home improvement trend, and hopefully, we can get back to meeting our retail partners in person.”
Panasonic also enjoyed strong sales over Christmas with particular highlights being products in home appliances, air-conditioning and audio visual.
“While market stock levels are gradually improving, stock supply in certain categories remains tight and our team is working hard to meet the market demand as much as possible,” Panasonic Australia managing director, Paul Reid said.
“Although market uncertainty for the year ahead remains, economic conditions are clearly improving which gives us cause for optimism. Panasonic is working closely with our business partners to make the most of the opportunities ahead of us.”
Fisher & Paykel experienced good sell-through across Haier refrigeration, laundry, cooking and air-conditioning during December.
“We’ve seen consumer demand for appliances continue to hold at these levels for a number of months and that trend is being supported with record production in our manufacturing factories,” chief operating officer Jeremy Sargeant said.
“We are optimistic that 2021 will continue to present us with opportunities to deliver on strong consumer demand and are well placed with our robust supply chain to deliver for our customers. I am extremely proud of the work our teams have put in over the past 12 months, moving quickly up a number of steep learning curves and operating responsibly and responsively in a Covid safe environment.”
BSH has reported strong sales over the Christmas and New Year period for the Bosch floorcare range, in particular the Series 6 cordless vacuum with interchangeable batteries that are compatible with other Bosch products including power tools and garden care.
