BRAND FOCUS: MIDEA Home Appliances
Making 30
Making products
nce a quiet but actually a global leading giant manufacturer, Chinese appliance manufacturer Midea is stepping firmly into the spotlight, and it’s bringing the UK
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market along for the journey. At the heart of this transformation is Midea UK (MUK), a relatively young division that’s moving quickly from a newly landed subsidiary into a fully-fledged domestic appliance player. Midea’s global footprint is staggering; the company has historically been known for its manufacturing scale, and over the past 10 to 15 years, the strategy has shifted: Midea is now focusing on its own name. “There are around many business units globally, all working to build the Midea brand, and other company owned brands,” explains Julia Livett, Head of Marketing. “We’re now leveraging our manufacturing capability to bring our own branded products to market.” Midea’s growing brand portfolio also includes licensed names like Toshiba (mainly in microwaves), owned brands like Eureka (in the US floorcare market), and, more recently,
aspirational but honest
ERT speaks to Julia Livett, Head of Marketing at Midea UK, about the brand’s growth and its latest space-saving refrigeration launches.
Teka and Kuppersbusch in Europe, the latter of which is still in the early stages of brand strategy in the UK.
The Midea UK story began not too long ago with an initial team, but today it is growing fast, recruiting all the time and now has a remarkable team and a growing market presence. “It’s fair to say we’re still considered a start-up,” says Ms Livett. “But we’ve been building quickly. Our ambition is clear, to be in all the right channels, online and offline, across major domestic appliances (MDA) like refrigeration, laundry and dishwashers, and small domestic appliances (SDA) too.” But entering a mature, highly competitive market like the UK is no small feat. “We’re not just competing with other Chinese brands. You’ve got major players like Samsung and LG, who benefit from brand spillover from their mobile and TV businesses. Consumers trust them without even thinking.” The brand doesn’t yet have that luxury, which is why the company is investing heavily in building credibility from the ground up.
Partnering with Manchester City A major part of that brand-building effort is Midea’s global sponsorship of Manchester City Football Club, now in its fifth year. While perhaps a less obvious match than other consumer lifestyle pairings, it’s proven highly effective. “If Man City trusts us enough to partner with us, that’s a mark of credibility. It tells consumers that we’re serious, that we’re a brand worth noticing,” comments Ms Livett. “We’re tribal. A Man City badge might not fly in Liverpool. But globally, that partnership gives us visibility to over a billion fans. Even if consumers don’t know what Midea makes, they’ve seen our name. And that counts for a lot.”
Earning trust Midea’s products are available in major retailers like AO and the Sirius Buying Group, but getting there hasn’t been easy. “The front- end commercial conversation, the ‘here’s our product’ pitch, is only one part of the process,” shares Ms Livett. “Retailers want to see that we have the infrastructure to support the brand post-sale.
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