Chinese whitegoods giant, Midea confirmed plans to open 20 stores across Australia over the next two years to sell Midea branded products direct to consumers.
In 2018, Midea Home Appliances Australia was established, and partnerships were secured with retailers including Appliances Online, Bing Lee, Betta Home Living, NCE, Hello Kitchen and The Good Guys, in addition to commercial project orders.
In early 2019, Midea China made the decision to close the business and by the second half of the year, the company opened four retail stores at Box Hill and Ringwood in Melbourne, Chatswood in Sydney and Woodridge in Brisbane – suburbs known to be primarily populated by Asian consumers.
This was followed by the opening of a new warehouse at Condell Park in Sydney’s south-west to enhance its customer service and improve delivery speed across NSW, according to a Midea executive. The warehouse joins the existing Midea warehouse at Underwood in Brisbane’s south-east.
The Condell Park facility is home to over 200 SKUs in air-conditioning, major appliances and small appliances and has created 10 jobs to the local community, a Midea spokesperson told Appliance Retailer.
In 2016, Toshiba transferred its home appliance business to the Midea Group in a major acquisition deal, valued at US$473 million. Midea is licensed to use the Toshiba brand worldwide until 2056.
