Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, the leading home appliance giants in Korea, are participating in this year’s Milan Design Week this week to showcase their new built-in appliances incorporating artificial intelligence and connectivity.
Milan Design Week is one of the largest international design and furniture exhibitions, held in the city in northern Italy with the participation of some 2,300 companies. This year the event runs from Tuesday to Sunday. The tech giants have also set up booths at EuroCucina, one of the largest international kitchen events, opening on the sidelines of Milan Design Week.
Samsung Electronics has set up a 964-square-meter booth at EuroCucina to display its new built-in products, all linked to its SmartThings ecosystem to maximize connectivity and boost convenience for users.
“We believe that connectivity between appliances will elevate consumers’ lives to a new level. Moreover, we also want customers to find the diverse features of new built-in products helpful to their daily life," said Lee Moo-hyung, executive vice president and head of the customer experience team at Samsung Electronics.
The main zone inside Samsung's booth consists of the Bespoke AI and premium built-in kitchen. Samsung said it will be unveiling three new built-in products packed with new innovative features to fit European lifestyles.
The products include a Bespoke refrigerator with the AI Family Hub, equipped with a 32-inch wide screen and AI vision recognition feature and Anyplace Induction with a 7-inch touch screen.
Its new Energy Efficient Dishwasher is also on display, as the latest model to bring high energy efficiency in dishwashing.
LG Electronics is targeting the European built-in appliance market with premium design and AI features at its 483-square-meter booth, decorated under the concept of a food lifestyle magazine.
According to the company, the booth consists of three different areas. The main kitchen zone displays the brand philosophy of the Signature Kitchen Suite, the subkitchen zone delivers LG’s view of nature and creativity, while the wine cellar zone is designed like a cave, the company explained.
Among the products on display is an oven newly introduced with the company's latest AI feature that identifies prepared ingredients inside and automatically adjusts the cooking temperature, LG said.
The company first tapped into the European built-in market in 2018, with its high-end Signature Kitchen Suite brand, and introduced midrange models last year to target all market segments.
According to LG, the company has raised its sales goal to 200 percent of last year for its high-end Signature Kitchen Suite brand and 140 percent for the midrange brand.
"We will expand our presence in Europe with both our high-end Signature Kitchen Suite brand and the 'mass premium' products to meet the needs of a wide range of customers," LG Electronics Vice President Lyu Jae-cheol said.
LG is also participating in the Fuorisalone, a set of events distributed in different areas of Milan, to display its comprehensive kitchen solutions. It is inviting Fabrizio Ferrari, a prominent seafood chef, to hold a cooking show, the company added.
