WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO MANUFACTURING

 WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO MANUFACTURING

Innovation in new products is the life-blood of our business. We must keep bringing new products to market, but increasingly innovation in
design is the great differentiator.

Most brands now have the same technology and offer the same range of features, so it is imperative that we constantly introduce innovations to keep ahead of our competitors. At the same time, I'm a great believer in 'emotional' design where the form or styling prompts people to want to use our appliances.

We have a range of activities to ensure Electrolux remains at the forefront of major appliance design and innovation.

For instance, consumer insights are an integral part of all new product development at Electrolux. It involves our people - designers, engineers, marketers, even psychologists - going into people's homes and observing them as they complete a family washing load, prepare a meal, unpack the shopping and fill fridges, etc. We note how they interact with their appliances, as well as ask them a myriad of questions about their appliances including what they would like to change or add.

At the same time, we stimulate and assist our professional team of designers by, among other things, conducting an international design competition, called the Electrolux Design Laboratory. In 2004, a team of three University of NSW industrial design students won with their concept for a waterless dishwasher which they called Rockpool.

Starting with the world's first domestic vacuum cleaner, Electrolux has been at the forefront of appliance design and innovation throughout its 85-year history and our determination to continue that tradition is as strong today as it always has been.

Lars Erikson, director of design Asia-Pacific,
Electrolux

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