Appliances are a key part in a kitchen or utility room and brand names can play their part in capturing a potential buyer’s attention. PHPD recently attended Whirlpool’s brand re-positioning launch and discovered its latest appliance options.
One factor which can play its part in influencing a new-home buyer is 
the brand of key products within the home. While it is doubtful that the brand of bricks or roof trusses will have much appeal to a potential buyer, the products with which they will more directly interact may well do. In the bathroom the brand of shower or taps may well make a difference – and some buyers may be interested in the brand of heating or ventilation system. However in the heart of the home, the kitchen, it is the brand of appliances – fridge freezer, oven, hob, dishwasher and tumble dryer – that will certainly grab a potential buyer’s eye.
Whirlpool is a global manufacturer of appliances and its UK arm, Whirlpool UK Appliances, recently announced a repositioning of the brand with a dramatic relaunch of its new premium range of appliances at a venue in London’s Design Quarter in Clerkenwell Green.
Since the acquisition of the Indesit, Whirlpool UK Appliances has re-positioned the Whirlpool brand in the premium market sector. The company believes the brand is renowned for ‘cutting edge design, superior performance, and intuitive technology’ and, as part of the relaunch, it is offering a warranty of two years labour and ten years parts as standard across the whole product portfolio.
Fiona Hope, Marketing Director, Whirlpool, says: “The spirit of the Whirlpool brand, which focuses on performance excellence, technology and innovation, will continue to create intuitive, purposeful technology that senses your needs and helps to free up your time for what really matters. Whirlpool UK Appliances Ltd. offers a variety of complementary brands and products in our portfolio to service the UK and Ireland, generating many opportunities for all our trade partners and consumers alike.”
Fiona highlighted the company’s 6th Sense technology, which although it has been part of the company’s offering for decades, is continually evolving. She notes, “The newest developments, that have resulted in the introduction of our 6th Sense Live connected appliances.”
Use your 6th Sense
First introduced in 1994, 6th Sense technology has since been adapted and extended so it now reaches all product categories. Whatever the appliance the technology provides the user with what the company describes as, “an effortless and intuitive experience, adapting to your needs and enabling you to delegate the thinking and the tasks.”
For example, cooking in a 6th Sense oven is made easier because sensors in the appliance will sense the mass of your dish, and automatically adjusts the cooking time and temperature of the oven accordingly. In a similar way Whirlpool cooker hoods use 6th Sense technology to detect vapours and odours when you are cooking, maintaining a fresh atmosphere throughout the kitchen, whilst automatically detecting and monitoring the air quality.
Jennifer Spragg, Senior Brand Manager, Whirlpool, says: “Whirlpool’s unique 6th Sense technology gives the busy consumer the time and freedom to do what really matters to them.”
App – solutely fabulous
With a further nod towards smart living Whirlpool has also just launched its very first WiFi-enabled fridge freezer – which follows on from the launch of a smart washing machine and tumble dryer. The BSNF 8993/PB 6th Sense Live Supreme NoFrost fridge freezer can be controlled from anywhere, by an app on a smartphone or tablet.
The App allows the user to adjust and monitor settings, activate special functions and receive notifications, while ready to give hints and tips on food storage, as well as advice for easy maintenance. Plus, a Shopping List function allows the user to create a food inventory and avoid unnecessary food wastage by providing a notification when expiry dates are approaching.
Darren Peake, EMEA Category Manager, Refrigeration, for Whirlpool, says: “The new Supreme No Frost fridge freezer with 6th Sense Live technology is Whirlpool’s newest addition to smart home technology that aims to make life easier for UK households. With easy to follow tutorials on how to store your food to ensure it stays fresh as the day you bought it for as long as possible, and with instructions on how to fix simple problems without incurring unnecessary maintenance costs, Whirlpool is proud to announce the smart Whirlpool fridge freezer as the flagship model of the Supreme NoFrost range.”
