Winia Dimchae·Electronics Improve Operating Profit Last Year Despite COVID-19 Crisis

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Daeyu Winia Group affiliates Winia Dimchae and Winia Electronics achieved record operating profits despite the global pandemic crisis.

On the 26th, Winia Dimchae held its regular shareholders' meeting at the R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and approved the 2020 financial statements. Last year, consolidated cumulative sales reached 875.6 billion KRW, and operating profit was 49.7 billion KRW, increasing by 17% and 141% respectively compared to the previous year.

Despite the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, Winia Dimchae's flagship product, the kimchi refrigerator "Dimchae," drove the performance. A Winia Dimchae official analyzed that sales increased due to the quality that has maintained the No. 1 brand position in the kimchi refrigerator market for 25 years and the government's top-efficiency home appliance rebate policy. In particular, the increase in the sales proportion of the high-margin stand model also improved operating profit, they added.

Winia Electronics, which was a deficit company before acquisition, succeeded in turning to operating profit within three years after the acquisition. In 2020, sales were 991.7 billion KRW, and operating profit was 2.6 billion KRW, a 171% increase from a 4.5 billion KRW loss the previous year.

Although Winia Electronics' sales decreased by 22% compared to the previous year due to the pandemic, it returned to operating profit by completing sales structure optimization and internal restructuring. In particular, expanding distribution channels and continuously launching competitive products in major overseas markets such as Mexico and North America greatly contributed to the turnaround to profitability despite the difficult business environment.

This year, Winia Dimchae declared quality upgrading and will focus on R&D investment and design development. At the same time, through product diversification, it plans to complete its lineup as a comprehensive home appliance brand and foster organic synergy among products.

Winia Electronics plans to respond to the North American market demand recovery by expanding its Mexico factory to supply the U.S. and other North American markets. It also aims to achieve sales of 1.5 trillion KRW and operating profit of 80 billion KRW this year by expanding new business partners and continuously launching high-quality premium products.

A Daeyu Winia Group official said, "Last year was a year of facing unstable consumer sentiment and a rigid market, but it was also a year when the synergy between home appliance affiliates Winia Dimchae and Winia Electronics was realized." He added, "This year, we will solidify our position as one of the top three comprehensive home appliance companies in Korea and strive to achieve good results as a global home appliance brand."

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