[Friday Story] The Era of 'Sterilization Appliances' as Must-Have Items

Essential Functions of Home Appliances Established Amid COVID-19
LG Electronics Challenges Global Home Appliance Market Throne with TrueSteam
Samsung Electronics Responds with Sterilization + AI

LG Electronics TrueSteam

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Office worker Park Sujin (34, pseudonym), who fought a war against damp and smelly laundry due to the long rainy season this summer, finally purchased a dryer recently.

When Park bought the dryer, an important factor she considered in addition to basic performance was sterilization. With growing concerns about viruses due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), she prioritized sterilization functions that could eliminate viruses.

As COVID-19 spread, sterilizing home appliances have gained great popularity among consumers. Appliance companies are adding various functions ranging from steam sterilization to air sterilization and high-temperature sterilization to their main products to attract consumer interest. Thanks to this, sales of white goods equipped with sterilization functions have noticeably increased this year.

According to the home appliance industry on the 28th, LG Electronics is likely to rank first in the global home appliance market in the third quarter following the first half of this year. Home appliances refer to washing machines, refrigerators, dryers, dishwashers, etc., excluding TVs, and are commonly called white goods.

LG Electronics' Home Appliance & Air Solution (H&A) division recorded sales of 10.5731 trillion KRW in the first half of the year. During the same period, Whirlpool of the United States, ranked second, recorded about 10.097 trillion KRW.

Financial investment sectors estimate that LG Electronics' home appliance division's sales in the third quarter will grow by more than 9% year-on-year to 5.8 trillion KRW. If this growth trend continues into the fourth quarter, LG Electronics is expected to surpass Whirlpool for the first time ever this year and achieve the top sales position in the global home appliance market.

The industry views LG Electronics' strong performance in home appliances as an unexpected boom linked to the COVID-19 situation, driven by steam appliances with excellent sterilization effects.

LG Electronics' TrueSteam technology boils water at 100 degrees Celsius to generate hot steam, adding powerful sterilization, deodorization, and washing power. LG Electronics holds over 1,000 domestic and international patents related to steam technology. LG Electronics first introduced a washing machine with steam functionality in 2005, followed by the Styler in 2011, the dishwasher in 2019, and this year, the dryer, each sequentially adding steam functions.

Among these, the Styler, dryer, and dishwasher are called the "steam appliance trio" and have recently driven the performance growth of the home appliance division. According to LG Electronics, as of last year, sales of the Styler, dryer, and dishwasher have grown 2.5 times compared to 2016, and sales are expected to increase even more this year.

Samsung Electronics Grande AI Dryer Washing Machine

Samsung Electronics is attracting consumer attention by adding the Air Sterilization Plus (+) function without steam to its dryers, as well as AI functions that automatically add solutions tailored to consumers' lifestyle patterns.

In particular, Air Sterilization+ competes with LG Electronics' steam technology by emphasizing its ability to remove harmful bacteria and house dust mites, pollen, as well as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus that have penetrated clothing, significantly enhancing the image of hygienic appliances.

In fact, Samsung Electronics recorded its highest-ever dryer sales in July, growing more than 60% compared to the same period last year. In the domestic dryer market, where LG Electronics led with over 60% market share last year, Samsung is rapidly advancing by leveraging the Air Sterilization+ function.

Although there are no exact statistics, both companies fiercely compete, each claiming to have a higher market share. Samsung Electronics' dryers are also distinguished as the only ones in Korea to receive the highest energy efficiency grade 1 rating across all capacities (9, 14, 16, 17 kg).

Additionally, for clothing care appliances, Samsung Electronics is chasing LG Electronics' Styler by adding Jet Steam sterilization, a fine dust removal function dedicated to clothing, and an odor decomposition filter to its AirDresser. For dishwashers, Samsung added a 'sterilization wash' function using 75-degree Celsius hot water.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.