Signature Kitchen Suite (SKS), the new brand of top-of-the-line built-in appliances from LG Electronics, recently launched its expansion throughout Europe. Already covering 27 countries, we talk to Manuela Ricci, the Marketing Manager for SKS in Europe, to delve into the brand's rapid expansion and the challenges this brings with it.
This is the first part of the interview with Signature Kitchen Suite. Next week we'll dive into the current trends in the luxury kitchen market and the advantages of collaborating with designers and architects.
Left: Manuela Ricci, the Marketing Manager for SKS in Europe. Right: the showroom in Milan.
European expansion
About a decade ago, SKS was launched in South Korea and quickly expanded to the US. 'South Korea's keen observation of the US market dynamics played a significant role in this rapid expansion,' Manuela explains. In 2020, SKS made its European debut with Milan chosen as the headquarters. 'Italy was considered the capital of design by our hq and there are many kitchen manufacturers there that export to the whole of Europe and the rest of the world.'
By 2023, SKS began expanding into other European countries. 'We would have started earlier, but unfortunately because of the COVID-19 pandemic this wasn't possible. We had to close the showroom in Milan a week after the opening.' Even with the delay in the initial expansion plans, the brand is now active in 27 countries. 'The reception in Europe has been overwhelmingly positive. We found they had an eager mindset for new brands and wanted to make a difference in their home appliances offer. This year we started to invest heavily in marketing to further help our dealers in their local activities.'
The challenges of expanding
When asked about the challenges of expanding to different countries, Manuela explained that aside from the pandemic, every country had different economic situations you needed to consider. However, she says, 'when it comes to luxury, the borders between countries are less visible. You're targeting people that travel a lot or have homes in different countries. Our residential projects usually go beyond what's local. So you take the differences into account, but they're more important for other markets than ours.'
Showroom in Milan.
Another challenge during the expansion after the pandemic was that the brand wasn't well-known. 'But somehow this also ended up to become an advantage,' Manuela says, 'this challenge turned into a strength, because it brought something new for dealers and architects. One of our most important values is that we want to stay true to food and want to respect food. This is where we differ from other brands, we focus on the quality of the ingredients and the story behind it. We feel, the bigger the company, the bigger our social responsibility is.' In addition to this distinct storytelling, SKS targets a younger, tech-savvy audience which sets it apart from other high-end kitchen appliance brands. Offering a high technology product range combined with luxury design a key strategy.
Showroom in Milan
These strategic values are also reflected in the showroom in Milan. SKS stands out with its three core pillars: respect for food, smart technology, and elegant design. 'The three floors of the 1100 sqm showroom are each dedicated to our values. The ground floor features all the SKS products displayed in a contemporary way. There is also a chef cooking in the kitchen, which you can see from outside. On the first floor there's a cooking academy for customers all around Europe, for training and cooking experiences. Lastly in the basement you'll find all LG products with smart technology. It's an apartment equipped with the highest tech.'
With these values SKS aims to combine food, technology and design. 'We're situated in the design district and this also reflects what we are trying to do. We not only want to partner with kitchen manufacturers, but also with the design world. We're not only a home appliance company, but we are more.' That's why SKS started interesting collaborations with m2atelier and Patricia Urquiola.
Find out more about these collections next week in the second part of the article where we talk about the collaborations with designers and trends in the luxury kitchen market. Stay tuned!
More information:
Signature Kitchen Suite
via Alessandro Manzoni 47,
angolo Piazza Cavour, 20121
Milan, Italy
+39 02 5002 0793
[email protected]
www.signaturekitchensuite.it