Samsung sets ambitious sales target for home appliances

Samsung Electronics Co. has beefed up its lineup of premium Bespoke home appliances with improved energy efficiency, artificial intelligence-enabled features and customized functions, which the company expects will help its home electronics business swing to profit.

The South Korean tech giant is aiming to bump up Bespoke product sales by 50% or more this year, increasing the proportion of premium home appliances to more than half its product lineup.

On Tuesday, it showcased new Bespoke models featuring higher energy efficiency and connectivity, alongside upgraded eco-friendly functions.

“This year, we rolled out a bunch of ultra-efficient Bespoke products, which reduce energy consumption beyond the top level of energy efficiency standards,” Han Jong-hee, vice chairman and head of Samsung Electronics' Device Experience division, said during its “Bespoke Life” media day.

They are equipped with sophisticated components with high energy efficiency.

Including the latest lineup of home appliances, Samsung has a total of 57 models under the Bespoke brand, which use less energy than those rated as the most energy-efficient, or Level 1, products. 

As an example, the AI-powered Bespoke Grande AI washer reduces electricity consumption by as much as 30% more than Level 1 products.

The four-door Bespoke refrigerator can save up to 22% in energy. If switched into the AI-powered energy-saving mode, it can further reduce energy consumption by up to 70%.

The latest AI-enabled models are installed with compressors applying ultra-precision processing technologies used to manufacture aircraft, as well as with inverters based on digital control and AI technologies.

With the new home appliances introduced on Tuesday, Samsung’s 2023 Bespoke products will expand to 27 models. They can be all wirelessly connected. Fifteen of them boast AI-enabled functions to cater to the users’ demands.

As for environmentally friendly functions, the Bespoke Grande AI washer captures microplastics of 10 micrometers or larger from clothes and reduces them by 60%.

Samsung will unveil a microplastic-capturing filter within the year.

The company has been expanding its Bespoke lineup across its electronics products since it introduced refrigerators under the premium brand in August 2019.

Premium products make up about half of its home appliance sales. Samsung will increase its proportion and strengthen its presence in the market, said Choi Ik Soo, who leads the sales and marketing team of Samsung’s digital appliances (DA) business.

“We are aiming to boost our Bespoke product sales by 50% this year compared to last year,” Han told reporters at the product launch event.

“There will be negative factors such as higher logistics and raw material prices and softening demand … but we’ll not post losses again for the first half of this year,” Han said.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, Samsung’s DA division reported 60 billion won ($46 million) in operating losses.

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.