F&P's fightback aims at top-end consumers

Whiteware manufacturer gets intuitive about technology.

By Yoke Har Lee

Whiteware manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Industries which has just announced what it calls a "thinking" washing machine called Intuitive, expects its Quantum range to make up at least 20 per cent of its whiteware business within three to five years.

The Quantum range of F&P products is pitched at the higher end of the whiteware market where margins are fatter.

Chief executive company Gary Paykel said the premium end of the whiteware market comprised about 15 per cent of the total market and was growing.

"I would say [Quantum products] will grow with the market," Mr Paykel said. "If the premium market is 15 per cent and growing, let's say at the top end of the market where Quantum is positioned in terms of price, it would be at least 20 per cent of our business if not more if we are successful in slowing down the imports of European washers, for instance."

The company yesterday had its first full-scale media briefing of what the Quantum project was about. It simultaneously unveiled a series of premium products - a stainless steel-door fridge, a range of cookware and ovens - to be marketed under the Quantum umbrella.

The DishDrawer dishwasher was F&P's first Quantum product. A Quantum product could be either design-led or technology-led.

The Intuitive range of washing machines, according to F&P, was a world first, extending F&P's proprietary knowledge in using an electronically commutated motor (a variable speed motor) technology, its in-house software know-how and laundry science knowledge.

The Intuitive washer is touted as a machine that "thinks". All the user needs to do is "tell" the machine how dirty the clothes are and it sets itself the task of washing, sensing the fabric and then calculating the combinations needed to achieve that. A liquid crystal display tells the user what the machine is doing, how much washing time is left and is coded so that the technician can tell by the code which parts need servicing.

It hits the New Zealand market this week and Australia's in three weeks.

Prices have not been disclosed, but the Smart Drive clothes washer at the commodity-end of the market now commands a $100-plus premium over competitors.
"We are also looking to break out of the commodity market [for whiteware]. This offers opportunity for margins for both retailers and ourselves," the company said.

Steady margin erosion since 1996 due to price competition from imports had set F&P on to a two-pronged fight-back strategy.

The first, named Refresh, was to upgrade existing products aimed at value-driven customers. The second was the Quantum range - aimed at the premium end of the whiteware market.