Special Feature by Patrick Avenell
To the uninitiated, the dominant trend in dishwashing is that nobody likes washing dishes. Look closely inside this $327 million category, however, and you will see a battle between many trends — often in direct opposition.
Speed
Last year in Milan, Italy, Smeg unveiled its ‘prosumer’ dishwasher: a 15-place, 5,600-watt powerhouse capable of completing a cycle in only 16 minutes. Manufactured in its own plants, which utilise the highest levels of quality control, the Domestic Pro leverages key learnings from Smeg’s heritage as a commercial supplier of dishwashers to the medical industry.
The introduction of Zeolite technology to the Bosch family of dishwashers (Bosch, Siemens, Gaggenau and Neff) has opened up a range of speedy new programs. Zeolite is a naturally forming rock-like substance noted for its adsorption qualities. Used in a dishwasher, it assists in moving fluids in the cavity to surfaces for faster drying.
ILVE is also promoting speed — its new fully and semi-integrated models both include 30-minute Quick Wash functions.
Click here to sign up for our FREE daily newsletter
Water and Energy Efficiency
Not all suppliers are enamoured with speed, though, as vocalised by Peter Smith, GM of sales at ASKO.
“To clean dishes, we believe speed is not the key,” he said. “To achieve speed, one needs to consume vast amounts of electricity and water to do so. At ASKO, we believe there is a fine line between the parameters of consumption values versus performance.”
Smith said ASKO’s core strength in dishwashing is to “meet and exceed expectations” in water and energy efficiency. While ASKO’s best rated dishwashers are 4-star WELS and 3.5-star Energy rated (normal mode), a new benchmark has been set by Bosch — its new SMS69T28AU model is 4.5-star Energy rated.
Miele and De’Longhi are very strong in WELS ratings: the former receiving 5 stars for its entire G 5000 range while the latter has the 15-place DEDW650S unit — these models, however, are only 3.5-star Energy rated.
Efficiency for the sake of the environment is a good thing, though there is also a capitalist reason for buying more expensive, more efficient appliances: they save you money in the long term. Peter Russell, GM of marketing at Fisher & Paykel, describes his brand as “second to none” in its dedication to the environment, a factor he believes is contributed to F&P’s 17 per cent value share of the market.
“Consumers want more for their money these days so are increasingly basing big ticket purchases on these extra features. Water and energy ratings, a plethora of wash programmes, and safety features are all important considerations that form the basis of purchase decisions.”
Safety & Reliability
Russell mentioned safety as one of the key purchasing factors for dishwashers. Over the past few years, Fisher & Paykel has been one of several brands to recall dishwashers. Others include Electrolux, Dishlex, Westinghouse, Bosch and LG. While most of the faults of these dishwashers have been very minor, these recalls have generated publicity, making consumers more aware of safety and reliability features.
“There is an increase in the trend towards water and energy efficiency, but also quality, as a dishwasher is an appliance you want to be able to rely on and consumers definitely do not want to have to replace it regularly,” said ILVE marketing manager Daniel Bertuccio.
LG has instituted a 10-year Direct Drive Motor warranty, including two years of cover for parts and labour, on all its dishwashers to add peace of mind; Miele has applied its 20 years of testing to estimate a lifespan of 1,500 wash cycles on its models; and De’Longi is introducing a totally new dishwashing platform in its new range, with fewer components and connections, “ultimately leading to greater reliability”, according to category manager Helen Finlayson.
Place Settings
Dishwashers with 14 place settings exploded in popularity in the 12 months to February: up 29 per cent in unit sales to comprise 54 per cent of the total market (it was 41 per cent for the previous year).
Although 14 has become the mode place setting in the market, there is a niche to be exploited with bigger place setting options.
Among the brands now promoting 15 place settings on selected models are Smeg, Miele, Bosch, Siemens, De’Longhi and ASKO.
Product Homogenisation
One of the leading suppliers said an influx similarly featured dishwashers from various brands has been driving down average sales price, as the only way these product can compete is on price.
Apart from the occasional manufacturer that assembles their own dishwashers in their own plants, most models are manufactured by one of only a couple of factories, located in China and Eastern Europe.
“A proliferation of brands selling similar products sourced from a handful of manufacturers has compressed selling prices and tightened specification differences between brands,” said this supplier.
“One brand goes low — there has to be one junkyard dog. But no, everyone follows it down and before you know it there is a pack of junkyard dogs.
“Dishwashers are at amazing price points with the difference between a famous German brand and unidentified home brand sometimes just being a few dollars. We think it is all about what happens after the sale just as much as before.”
There is no doubt the European brands and Fisher & Paykel have more nous in product differentiation than the emerging Asian brands, as detailed in the next trend.
Design
In addition to the slick, seamless lines of its flagship Classic and Linear styles, Smeg also has a range of FAB dishwashers in 1950s retro tones, including black, red and panna (white). These models include colour co-ordinated baskets, racks and handles, and will match the styles of Smeg’s FAB refrigerator range.
ILVE is also promoting an ecosystem design for its new range, which will match new oven, cooktop and sink releases.
This is a trend Miele does not see slowing down, especially in the built-in segment.
“The integrated dishwasher segment is showing strongest growth as integrated models are increasingly incorporated to create a personalised cohesive design. Based on international trends, this design aesthetic will continue.”
Within the Bosch family, Gaggenau is considered the most design-focused brand. Its Vario range is at “the forefront of design meeting technology”, according to brand manager Frances Lynch, with a beautiful white fascia and silver trim, plus hidden controls, on its $4,000 unit.
Just as the All Blacks take rugby union to the next level, New Zealand’s Fisher & Paykel is going one step further than anyone with what it calls ‘Distributed Dishwashing’. Here is Peter Russell to explain:
“Our DishDrawer models can be separated and placed around the kitchen like drawers to accommodate those who are short on space in the kitchen, but who still want design flexibility.
“Distributed dishwashing, which is a concept unique to our DishDrawer range, allows consumers the freedom to design their kitchen around the way they live. Do they want one DishDrawer beside the sink for glasses and another by the stove for pots and pans? Done — it is all about making lives easier.”
Design advancements in dishwashing, however, received in a new benchmark in 2012, when ASKO released its Alfresco dishwasher. Completely sealed from the elements and creepy crawlies, this dishwasher is the perfect model for the barbeque addict or outdoor-entertaining aficionado.
Brains and Brawn
Being tough enough to withstand permanent patio placement is a great trait but a dishwasher doesn’t have to be all muscle and no smarts. Just as ‘Smart’ features are infiltrating TVs, refrigerators and cookers, the IQs of dishwashers are also heading north.
LG Electronics is a major proponent of this trend, as head of PR Phillip Anderson explained.
“Our TrueSteam dishwasher has a wide range of intelligent features, such as Steam, Smart Rack, Extra Hot Rinse, Smart Diagnosis and Dual Spray cycle,” he said.
“Increasingly, we are also finding that consumers are buying quieter models. The TrueSteam dishwasher by LG offers an extremely low noise rating at just 41 decibels.”
Miele goes three decibels better than this, claimed category manager Louise Paynter.
“At just 38 decibels, Miele G 5000 dishwashers feature the ExtraQuiet wash programme, which allows for maximum performance that is so quiet it is hardly perceptible, making these dishwashers ideal for open plan kitchen living spaces.”
Smeg doesn’t talk up silence as much as it does systems. Here’s marketing manager Jim Kalotheos explaining how it achieves its aforementioned 16-minute cycle.
“The innovation behind this dishwasher is its Dual Core system — essentially there are still two motors but the wash motor in this unit is 2,000 watts, with an integrated element that can operate at variable speeds,” he said. “It also has two 1,800-watt inline elements to heat the water instead of just one, as in other domestic machines.
“The immediate advantage of this system is a dual heating system that heats the water to the required temperature much faster than ever before, and a dual draining motor to further speed the process.”
In addition to these specific features, more and more dishwashers are being released with soft touch controls, TFT or LCD screens and intuitive programs. Even at the entry level, such as with a $500 Haier dishwashers, consumers have access to triple filtration, half load options and Quick Wash cycles.
Compact Units
“An interesting trend at the moment is the rise of single person households, which are currently outgrowing any other household type, as well as the fact that families without children are growing at a faster rate than those with children,” said Haier brand manager Yvonne Hong, citing ABS statistics.
“Often these would be the consumers who do not own dishwashers, as they feel there is no need to purchase such a significant appliance for just one or two people in the household.
“It’s important to offer appliances that cater to this growing demographic.”
Dishwashers are competing with a lot of sexier gadgets for the Youth Dollar: smartphones, tablets, coffee machines, even Dyson vacuum cleaners are more tantalising than a dishwasher. Smaller models, however, are cheaper and will more easily slot into the kitchen of a young person living in an apartment.
Haier has 45-centimentre compact models from RRP $599, Euro Appliances has one unit in that size at RRP $589 and, for the customers who are trying to save space and not dollars, Bosch has a fully integrated 45-centimetre Compact Modular Dishwasher for RRP $999.
Low Penetration Rates
Not so much a product trend as a societal trend, several suppliers reported that Dishwashing is a category with plenty of growth opportunities. Perhaps because there hasn’t been as strong a focus on single person households, a lot of consumers have not been marketed to, which means there are still plenty of dollars to be made.
“Information supplied by one of our working partners, Reckitt Benckiser and its Finish brand, shows that Australia still has relatively low household dishwasher penetration compared with most other developed western markets,” said Peter Russell from F&P. “This implies large continued potential.”
Daniel Bertuccio from ILVE agrees.
“At this point in time, the dishwasher market is flowering and it’s time to capitalise on this opportunity through offering high quality dishwashers that are reflective of the current trends in this area.”
And here is Yvonne Hong from Haier:
“Dishwashers are still not considered an essential purchase, so there are plenty of opportunities to turn non-dishwasher owners into dishwasher purchasers.”
According to data seen by Appliance Retailer magazine, there were 425,000 dishwasher unit sales during 2012. That is more than half the 940,000 refrigerators sold every year in Australia. If suppliers and retailers can convince consumers that the dishwasher is as essential as a refrigerator, that would inject another $400 million into the market.
We’re Here to Help!
The various suppliers of dishwashers are all on call to help out retailers. Here is Darren Sharvell from Omega scratching the surface of what is available:
“Omega provides a full training program that is incorporated with our cooking appliances,” he said. “We have showrooms in all states where our training staff provide full training on our products for our retail partners’ sales staff.”
Showroom access and/or training is available from Miele, Smeg, the Bosch family, ASKO, De’Longhi, ILVE and a lot of other brands not mentioned.
They have all asked us to encourage retailers to utilise these services to help generate sales.
Appliance Retailer magazine is the first place to find out everything happening in the Australian appliance industry.