Daily items becoming testimonial of the “Italian style”.
One of the most important home appliances Italian companies was founded in 1948 by the initiative of a family of entrepreneurs who, with passion and know-how, have developed a solid and always growing reality. Smeg, born as enamelling plant working with metals, preserves in its acronym Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla the memory of’ the activity carried out initially. Over time, the brand has established itself as a symbol of household appliances with a high aesthetic and technological content, made with a great attention to the research and development of exclusive proposals.
Tradition and innovation: how do they live together in your mission?
Tradition and innovation have always been the two souls that distinguish Smeg production. In its more than sixty-five years of life, the company has never ceased to transform and evolve, keeping its promise to totally respect the consumer and pursue the excellence in the quality of its products. Know-how, creativity and refinement, in fact, are the distinctive features of Smeg and of its constant commitment in transmitting a soul in everyday objects. This particular identity of the company is not only an aesthetics matter, but is an expression of its origin and passion. It is, in fact, a precise propensity to qualify the Italian design features, such as inventiveness elegance, originality and quality of the products. Faithful photographs of the Country of Style, Smeg home appliances, like the refrigerator Fifties-style or the all steel made kitchens, become objects able to influence the taste evolution and to create relationships that go beyond the practical needs. It is with this precise spirit that collaborations with major designers and architects were born and, at the same time, internal development projects consolidate themselves to interpret tastes and trends.
Has the balance between these two components led to specific measures in terms of productive organization?
As mentioned, a precise stress toward excellence and toward projects originality have always characterized Smeg. It is from this vision that collaborations with architects of the caliber of Guido Canali, Mario Bellini and Studio Piano were born, that not only have contributed to create home appliances which became icons, but have also left a deep mark in the company, and their ideas have enriched and transformed the production itself. Thanks to this precise choice, Smeg appliances went soon from being simple products of daily use to be witnesses of an Italian style, unique in the world, born by a perfect fusion among practicality, technology and beauty.
How do you manage to intercept or anticipate new trends in demand?
Past is certainly a source of inspiration, not so much in a nostalgic way, but in a perspective of a constant search for lines that could interpret the present taste and influence the future one. It is inspired by soft old shapes, for example, that Smeg has created the 50s years style refrigerator: a cult object that has become by now part of the collective imagination and taste. This inimitable fridge is the result of an internal design demonstrating that the long-established collaboration with the architects led to an aesthetic maturation and a creative sensibility that are now part of the heritage of the company. Beyond this vision, there is a constant confrontation with the market, that allows us to catch the signals to be interpreted to meet ever-changing needs. In this case, our capillary presence all over the world, through 17 direct branches and an extensive network of distributors, enables us to challenge our limits and open up to what is different: meeting the different culinary cultures and ways of live the house, Smeg could maintain firm its identity and, at the same time, welcome the various requirements. Because a home appliance, although manufactured of materials capable of withstanding time, must be versatile to adapt to the wishes of who will use it and be able to satisfy them in the best way. So, as Smeg reaches different countries, its catalog widens and is enriched with new chances and ideas.
What tools allow you to meet the specific needs of a buyer?
We always try to anticipate the requests the most possible and, at the same time, to ensure a constant offer of quality and innovative products, whose added value contributes to increase the average receipt and consequently the marginality. A certainly useful and essential instrument for a better understanding of the proposal is the constant training of the sales force. In this regard, therefore, we organize several meetings – at Smeg head office or at retail shops themselves – to properly prepare the sellers and, above all, transmit to them the value of our company philosophy.
Which positioning do you intend to pursue in the future?
More and more Smeg will relate with a high-end market, in which the research is released from the simple price factor, but still focuses on assumptions such as the material and build quality and the ability to offer to the consumer products that connote themselves for their elegance, high performance and advanced technology.
Are the international certifications an opportunity to reaffirm the intrinsic value of your production?
The certifications are certainly a good opportunity, also because they confirm the quality of the proposal and allow to catch the widespread attention to the singular detail or manufacturing process.
Do you think it would be desirable a stronger synergy among producers to strengthen the made-in-Italy in the world?
Unfortunately, until few years ago Italy was one of the largest producers of household appliances. Now, even with the latest acquisitions that all know, the scenario has changed considerably. Smeg remains the latest company of a certain size, which produces exclusively in Italy. We believe that this can and must certainly be, for us and for our consumer, an element of a great added value from many points of view (product offer and quality, job offer, investment in the Country). Synergies, when possible, are always desirable. That is why Smeg, beyond its specific sector, has been collaborating with other Italian brands for a long time to get proposals which, in a perfect continuity with the specifications of our Country, can surprise, amaze and astonish. This, for example, is what happened for the collaboration with Italian Independent and Fiat, that led to the birth of SMEG500 – the first refrigerator made inside of the hood of a car.
| Special articles Each new Smeg product comes from a study and from an ad hoc design of shapes, ergonomics and functions. The work of aesthetic research made by the advanced in-house design center benefits of the collaborations of world-renowned architects and designers such as Guido Canali, Mario Bellini, Studio Piano Design, Marc Newson and Giancarlo Candeago. Today it is present worldwide with 17 commercial branches (France, England, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, USA, South Africa, Australia, Mozambique and Poland) a representative office in Saudi Arabia, a capillary network of distributors. |
| Classic aesthetics The SFP6390X code identifies the new Smeg 60cm multifunction pyrolytic oven. The product aesthetics is inspired by a classic style, and it is resistant to the normal everyday use thanks to the material it is made of: finger friendly stainless steel. It cooks up to 280 degrees for an energy class A -20%. From the technical point of view, the product offers 14 functions, including 2 automatic cleaning (Pyrolysis and Pyrolysis Eco) and 3 extra functions : defrost, bread proving, sabbath. The use is facilitated by the presence of a large Lcd display, by an electronic timer, the delayed start (with automatic switching on) and the end of cooking (for the automatic shutdown). A warning sound is activated at the cooking end. For the user safety, the oven will automatically shut off when opening the door. As equipment they are supplied: a 40 mm deep basin, two grills and a grill insert. Useful for the dealer is the "Showroom" mode.  |
