Por Rodolfo Pollini

This is a particular moment for the country and the economy. How do you see the appliance market, in general and from Goldmund's particular perspective?
Sales fell. Since the second half of last year we have been complicated, with a drop in purchasing power and many problems. I don't know if it is the time to invest, but we are moving forward with our investment plans. We have a sales level that sustains the company's activities and we are doing well. We can't complain.

It is true that this is not the ideal time to invest, but if the businessman does not invest, someone will invest in his place and beat him in positioning, products and brand. Yes. In 2017 we made a strong investment, we expanded production capacity and we also invested in management, production, training and logistics systems. It was the year imports were opening up and factories were shrinking. It was not an ideal time to invest but we made the investments we planned to make. In 2018 came the devaluation, in 2019 there was a very big recession, problems with rates, sales fell and we were operating at 30% of the productive capacity that we had installed. It seemed that we had been wrong, but since the pandemic the market began to recover, demand increased and we had to increase production. All of 2021 was a year of growth, 2022 too and if we had not made the investments we made we would not have been able to face this growth in demand. Investments must be looked at in the medium and long term.

It is also true that it is not the ideal time to invest in any country. The world became complex and volatile.
There is a very big drop in demand around the world. When reports arrive, especially from Korean companies, we see the growth they have in days of stock. The drop in sales of semiconductors, or computer equipment, is phenomenal. The same thing happens with companies that sell chips and there was a drop in demand for television units. The amount of appliance inventory held by global companies, both Korean and Chinese, is phenomenal.

How do you see Argentina projected in this world panorama?
I think this is something very good for Argentina, because if we have problems with recession, balance of payments and current account deficit but we continue operating, seeing that the world is so bad, we are not so bad. There are many emerging global economies that have fallen. Korea has been experiencing a trade deficit for seven or eight months. It is something never seen in Korea. The same in Japan. Exports are falling and since they are countries that import food and energy and there is an international increase in the prices of these commodities, they are having a trade deficit. It is not an easy situation for anyone. There was an increase in inflation never seen before in Europe and the United States and many companies are restricting investments, but that will eventually pay off. Companies that make strategic investments are the first to emerge from the recession.

In this global drop in demand, what part do you attribute to the explosion of demand that occurred in the pandemic and to this post-pandemic that can be seen as a fall or as a return to normality?
There is part and part. I can't tell you how much it affects, but it is obvious that during 2020, 2021 and part of 2022 there was an unusual increase in demand for household appliances around the world and it is natural that there is a drop at this time. The fall in purchasing power is also widespread throughout the world. In Europe there are no joint ventures like in Argentina, due to the increase in inflation. The salary increase is due to increased productivity. In Japan, wages have not grown for 40 years. They are not used to a loss of purchasing power as they have. Two digits of inflation is a very strong blow and the problem is that everyone says that this inflationary spiral is going to be a long-term phenomenon, that it is not going to be resolved in the short term, that it is going to be like in the 70s, when the United States had inflation of 15%.

You, with the eTermo, made a move not only to launch a product but also one of innovation. What margin do you see, locally or globally and with everything we have been talking about as a scenario, for innovation, to try to generate more demand for appliances and with different products not only in design?
I think there is a lot of room and a lot of need in the public for new products. We are going to launch a product derived from eTermo and we are going to launch throughout the entire shelf. We have about 300 SKUs and we are going to continue adding more. With Artificial Intelligence, connectivity and the Internet of Things, it is inevitable that a company like ours continues to innovate. Consumption patterns are not the same as they were thirty or forty years ago. The production of household appliances cannot be the same either. You have to add value, solve user problems and generate a better user experience.

The World and Us

Choi maintains that it is very difficult to have in Argentina the same products that the world has. "In recent years there have been many salary fluctuations and it is a great challenge for our companies to present a product with innovation, design, quality and a price suitable for the consumer's pocket. But this is also what is interesting about our work," he said.

I'm thinking that twenty or twenty-five years ago the espresso machine was an aspirational product, and typical of someone who had a playroom with a bar and a bar, but today it is a product that is growing and is very practical for people who live alone or as couples.
Exactly. That's why we bet a lot on coffee makers. We are one of the companies with the widest line and we are going to expand it.

They also maintain the design contest from which the eTermo emerged. Are you going to continue with that strategy to sustain innovation?
In part yes, because it is important to receive the contribution of the young generation, but we also analyze the uses and customs. It is essential to develop a product adapted to the customs and gastronomic uses of the Argentine public. A great product is one that arises from the cultural identity of a society.

The last one. In November they turn 20 years old. How are you going to celebrate it?
We are going to celebrate with growth for the next twenty. This year is very important because it is also the fortieth anniversary of the recovery of democracy in Argentina and we, as a celebration of our anniversary, instead of having a big party we choose to invest a lot in culture. We believe in corporate social responsibility and it is important that companies contribute to the cultural growth of the country. On March 26 we will be the only sponsor of the concert given by the Bach Academy of Buenos Aires, founded forty years ago by maestro Mario Videla, who at 83 years old will direct the interpretation of Bach's Easter Oratory at the Teatro Colón, whose authorities, I want to highlight, gave us the entire theater with free admission. Not only this. During 2023 there will be many more celebrations, exhibitions and concerts, all in celebration of twenty years of our company.