MIELE: JOHN PICKERING THE ERT INTERVIEW
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A good example of that would be our new G7000 range of dishwashers, which are so quiet you could put them in a library! It’s the most efficient dishwasher you can get on the market and, as with all of our products, it’s tested for the equivalent of 20 years’ usage. We believe that over time users get real value for money with Miele products. It’s very easy to make short-term decisions, especially with the economic challenges we’re all facing, but these don’t always play out in the long term so we’ve got to make sure our products are as accessible as possible.
Q: Sustainability has always been a key focus for Miele; what are your latest objectives to ensure this continues? JP: Sustainability has been part of Miele’s DNA ever since we first put ‘Immer Besser’ on a cream separator over 100 years ago! We’ve actually declared that we want to be the leading manufacturer when it comes to sustainability – not number two or number three, we want to be number one. It’s very ambitious but it’s centred on three particular pledges; firstly we’re looking at the full spectrum of Scope One, Two and Three business objectives to analyse the impact we have as a manufacturer. For example, 80 per cent of our impact hits once the product is in the customer’s home, so it is crucial that we work with our customers on intuitive education on product usage. We have also pledged that we want to be 100 per cent carbon neutral – working towards better manufacturing processes and ecosystems that are totally carbon neutral. Our third pledge relates to circularity. This is nothing new for Miele, but for every product we bring back we’re looking to see what parts we can harvest and retain to be reused elsewhere.
Q: You mentioned customer education, how do you guide your consumers to use their appliances more efficiently? JP: One great example is our dishwasher range; when you turn them on they automatically default to the ‘economy’ setting so users have to purposely override that to select a different programme. When it comes to laundry, the reason we don’t have that auto ‘eco’ mode on our washing machines is because the program selection is relative to the clothes and the fabric being washed and it’s important to select the right mode. We know from our own research that only a very low percentage of consumers across Europe are using the ‘eco’ setting on their washing machines, so if we can increase that by even one or two per cent, it sounds small but that kind of change can make a very big impact towards everyone’s environmental targets.
Q: This year marks Miele’s 125th anniversary! How have you all been celebrating? JP: We have used this anniversary as an opportunity to connect even further with our employees and celebrate the legacy and history of the company. Our employees are what have created the success of the business. In fact, we invited many of our retirees back to celebrate with us as well; we took everyone off site for a day of celebration and recognition and it was the perfect way to say thank you to them for all their hard work. We also had some lovely personal messages
from Dr Markus Miele and Dr Reinhard Zinkann; obviously Miele is a privately held, family owned business so this anniversary is very special for them and their families. The nice thing about having a family ownership structure is those stories that transcend the generations are those that create the glue for our company and our culture.
Q: What is it about Miele that you think has stood the test of time? JP: In short, it’s ‘Immer Besser’, meaning Forever Better; that’s been at the heart of the business from its inception. It means there is a constant healthy dissatisfaction with the status
September 2024
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quo and a need to constantly improve, and we have got to get that balance right. We have built something incredible, which is the most trusted and desired premium brand; it takes a long time to build that and it needs careful handling and managing. I think the secret to success is an unwavering commitment to that ‘Immer Besser’ approach – to non-compromising views on product quality, a very clear strategic focus and a business culture that allow individual ideas to flourish to take us forward.
Q: What are the company’s plans moving forward, and what are your personal ambitions to grow Miele GB? JP: We are very clear on our long-term destination for the business, not just in financial means, but in terms of how we delight our customers, how we look after our employees, and how we look after the planet.
But as well as the development of Miele
products we are also continually building on our service offering; we’ve got a fantastic service division around the world that provides incredible care for our customers and they are at the forefront of what we do. From a personal point of view, if I look back at my six years with Miele, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind! We had a global pandemic and economic crises to contend with, but I’ve got a fantastic team who work extremely hard day in, day out so I couldn’t do it without them. I feel we’ve got a responsibility to ensure that the home appliance category continues to prosper in a healthy way, and Miele contributes tremendously towards that. We’ve got some world-class competitors that keep us on our toes, and with continued investment in our future landscape we have no reason not to continue to succeed and enjoy another successful 125 years in business!
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