As Beko marks three years in the Philippines, the European brand is gaining strength in the refrigerators, cookers, and even air-conditioning categories.
“We cannot give exact figures right now. In the stores where we are present, it varies by product category. For refrigerators, we’re one of the top 5 in the stores where we are present,” said Dyeun Zapanta, marketing head of Beko Philippines. “For cookers, we are strong because there is very limited competition in the category and there are few brands in the market. We’re in the top 3 in this category.”
Beko is the international home appliance brand of Arçelik, a multinational household appliances manufacturer that operates 12 brands.
This year, Beko is also focusing on marketing its dishwashers in the Philippines by telling people that it’s not a luxury but a necessity.
“You not only promote convenience but also hygiene. Plates, glasses and utensils are things you put in your mouth so if these things have food residue that haven’t been washed thoroughly by manual means, it could be unsanitary and potentially harmful due to bacteria,” said Zapanta.
For the Philippines, Beko has two types of dishwashers. The tabletop dishwashers (for eight-plate settings) are priced at around P21,000. The freestanding dishwashers (for 15-plate settings) are priced from P26,990. The high-end ones are priced at around P35,000.
Beko has just entered the air-conditioning market because it is already one of the brand’s top products in the Philippines. This, said Zapanta, is due to the hot weather. The Beko inverter air-conditioners start at around P26,990 for one horsepower. This translates to big savings in household power bills.
Beko, which aims to be the top European brand in the Philippines in the next five years, is also well-known for its HarvestFresh refrigerators. HarvestFresh is a proprietary Beko technology that uses three color light technology, to mimic the 24 hour sun cycle. This, Beko claims, “keeps the fruits and vegetables in its natural original environment long after it’s been harvested, preserving their vitamins and freshness for longer.” The brand now has more HarvestFresh models from its previous offering of four SKUs.
Another development is that Beko Pilipinas Corp. has been named the exclusive distributor of Hitachi Major Domestic Appliances division.
“We actually acquired this division globally but we’re starting the transition in Asia except Japan. The domestic appliances division excludes air-conditioners and includes refrigerators and laundry and cooking products,” said Zapanta.
On the sustainability front, Beko has announced its partnership with Plastic Credit Exchange, a global ecosystem of carefully vetted partners that recover, process and recycle plastic waste with programs that improve livelihood, scale up social impact, and reduce the flow of plastic pollution into nature. The partnership is in line with the Philippines’ Extended Producer Responsibility Law, which holds companies responsible for the plastic packaging they use throughout the lifecycle of their products.
“It has always been our thrust to be sustainable. We have a lot of of products with five-star ratings in terms of energy efficiency. Every time that we launch a product, we need to make sure that we improve on the energy efficiency aspect,” said Zapanta.
As Beko marked its third year in the Philippines, the appliance brand held a trade launch for its dealers at the Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom with the theme “Empowered to Live Like a Pro.”
During the whole-day event, guests including media and dealers, got to experience Beko’s range of appliances.
Beko Philippines showcased its hero technologies, such as HarvestFresh, ProSmart Inverter Technology, Steam Cure, Hygiene+, AeroPerfect, and many others.
Among the products highlighted that day were cookers. The HII64205F2MT is a 60x50cm built-in induction hob with four Cooking Zones and two 2 Flexizone, nine cooking levels and a glass burner plate. Meanwhile, the BBIS14300XCSE is a 60x60cm multifunction built-in oven with six cooking functions, including Steam Aid.
There were also refrigerators, including the GNO480E40HFGBPH, a 16.6cf inverter multi-door refrigerator with Neofrost Triple Cooling Technology, HarvestFresh, Prosmart Inverter Compressor, in a sleek black glass door finish. Also featured was the Hitachi Refrigerator R-WB640VG0-1 GBK with Vacuum Technology with Platinum Catalyst and Inverter X Dual-fan Cooling with Eco-thermo sensor.
Image credits: Beko
