Coway, a mid-sized home appliance firm, is expected to launch clothing cleaning control device next week. Besides, Samsung Electronics plans to launch clothing management products in July as soon as possible, and other major home appliances makers such as Teacher Wells & Winix will also enter the clothing management market. Meanwhile, LG Electronics` dominance in the domestic clothing management market, which has been monopolized in the name of `Trom Styler`, is drawing attention.

According to the industry on May 10, Coway will release the domestic `FWSS` garment cleaner in Korea. It is equipped with a clean function which is one step further from the existing clothing management function, and it is characterized by being able to perform air cleaning and dehumidification at the same time as clothing management as well as space. It sells the products manufactured by domestic small appliance maker `Paceco` in the form of original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The price is expected to be between KRW 40,000 ~ 60,000, which is similar to the monthly rental price of clothes management machines sold on the market.

The representative of Coway said, "We have a lot of dust in clothes room and dehumidification in summer. We are expecting a lot of sales from the beginning of the market because of the high efficiency of use from home to dress room."

Coway plans to increase its market share rapidly in the apparel market, which has been dominated by LG Electronics since then. Samsung Electronics plans to release a clothing manager in July against this backdrop. It is said that it registered the secret design of clothes manager at the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

Also in the year, Teachers Wells and Winix will show their clothing management products. Cheongho-Nice has already secured a technology base to jump into the apparel management business internally, but it is in the position to watch the market situation and release the product in the future.

On the other hand, the domestic apparel management market is expected to turn into a multiple competition system between LG Electronics and Coway and Samsung Electronics. Currently, the market is monopolized by LG Electronics for more than seven years since launching the Trom styler in 2011. LG Electronics has sold about 100,000 Trom Stylers last year. Trom Styler sales have doubled from last year until April this year. The Korean market for apparel managers last year was about 120,000 units. Meanwhile, the industry expects that the demand for apparel management products will rise and the number of participating companies will increase to 200,000.

An industry specialist stated, "Apparel managers are now so popular that they are now a necessity for comedies. Home appliances are jumping into the market with a new blue ocean."

By Kim Eun silverkim@


[ copyright ⓒ The Digitaltimes ]