Mabe stirs up contention for highest income consumers

The Mexican group Mabe, manufacturer of white goods products and owner of the brands GE, Dako and Continental in Brazil, is investing $ 5 million for the release of another brand, the Continental One. The strategy is to leverage the reputation of cinquentenária and popular Continental, which represents 60% of sales of Mabe in the country, to sell more expensive products, used in planned and gourmet kitchens. The prediction is that the new brand at retail until the beginning of April.
The Brazilian market of home appliances have two simultaneous growth movements: the base and the top. "To consumers from the top to the kitchen is no longer the place of food preparation to become living environment for families, women who seek convenience and gourmets", says the commercial Vice President of Mabe, Marcelo Vienna.
It is for this mother lode of consumers willing to pay between $ 5,000 and $ 15,000 for a full kitchen that Mabe decided to produce 19 items with stainless finish or mirrored glass, most hard and made by partners in different countries. All Continental One stoves are manufactured in Italy. The hoods, dishwasher and microwave are made in China. The refrigerator, the only product that can be used in the traditional way or embed, is imported from Mexico. In Brazil, are being produced some electric and gas ovens.
Continental One will compete with the Cowboy Gourmand, Whirlpool and Electrolux Home Pro, which already operate in the segment of kitchens for the classes A and b. The premium line of Brastemp was released in 2009 and has 17 items. The Kitchen Aid is another premium brand of Whirlpool and a kitchen with four items can cost more than $ 40 million. Electrolux competes with eight products in the category, all imported and released in 2011. A kitchen with six items of Electrolux Home Pro is worth about $ 18 million. The common recipe among the brands it's contemporary design and innovations such as oven with grill and steam or refrigerator with different temperatures for each type of food.
The definition of the Continental brand to support entry into the premium segment was part of a restructuring of the group, held in 2011. At the time were withdrawn from the Canadian market the brands Mabe and Bosch and 75% of the portfolio of the Group was renewed. "It was there that we identify market areas where we were not present," says Vienna.
Mabe group holds about 20% of the market for white goods, which is led in Brazil by American multinational Whirlpool, with 40%. Secondly, the Swedish Electrolux owns 30%. The estimated growth of Mabe in for 2013 is about 6%. The Brazil represents 25% of the world manufacturer, billing of $ 4 billion in 2012, is the biggest market, ahead of Mexico.
By June, the company plans to open a store in West São Paulo to display the appliances of the Continental One. These spaces, where the products are not sold, customers, architects and decorators exploit the possibilities of designing a kitchen of dreams. Mabe will offer free installation of appliances. "Are more complex products, flush-mounted, requiring care in installation", says the Executive.
The One is not the Continental premiere of Mabe in gourmet kitchens. The Mexicans work in Brazil with two lines of GE; GE Profile and GE Monogram, but with higher prices. A Monogram kitchen can reach cost $ 200,000, depending on the number of items and specifications of the product, and your target audience are professional chefs. Already the line Profile is aimed at the weekend and chefs can be worth up to $ 30,000. In Mexico, Mabe sells appliances for this branded niche IO Mabe.