and digital touchpoints, where customers can design their own state-of-the-art kitchens. Unlike Miele’s previous Experience Centres, the Doncaster store is located in a shopping centre, so it was important to create a space that draws people in as they walk past and makes them feel comfortable touching and feeling the products.  “We’re really happy with the footfall so far,” Yves Dalcourt, managing director at Miele Australia and New Zealand, told Inside Retail.  Part of the customer journey The Doncaster store is Miele’s seventh retail location in Australia. But while other appliance brands like Dyson are opening stores to grow their direct-to-consumer sales, that’s not the case with Miele, which is stocked in Harvey Norman, The Good Guys, Winning Appliances, E&S, Noel Leeming and other major retailers in Australia and New Zealand. “It’s important for us to have the right products in the right stores across the country, regardless of the banners from my perspective,” Dalcourt explained. “Some consumers feel more comfortable going to retailer A versus retailer B, so we want to make sure we’re distributed in all those key partners across the country.” Rather than competing with retailers, the Experience Centres are designed to complement the customer journey, according to Dalcourt. “We actually encourage our partners to send their customers there, so we can close the sale on their behalf, because they might not have the full range of product in their store,” he said. A reputation for quality The store expansion comes off the back of a “very successful year” for Miele Australia and New Zealand, where the Covid-19 lockdowns drove many people to invest in their homes. “We were fortunate, to a certain degree, that consumers were confined to their homes and not able to travel anymore, so they decided to renovate their kitchen or replace their dishwasher,” Dalcourt said.  “Thanks to our strong brand awareness and product quality, we were very satisfied with 2020.” Australia is Miele’s third largest market globally, after the US and Germany. Overall, the brand is a $4.2 billion business. With its German tagline ‘immer besser’, which translates to ‘forever better’, Miele’s reputation for quality is what explains its success, according to Dalcourt.  “We’re always pushing the envelope in terms of quality,” he said. “Most of our [products] are fabricated in our factories in Europe, and we have a statement that we build products to last the equivalent of 20 years of workmanship.”  Last year, Miele launched a free 10-year warranty program in Australia, which not only provides customers peace of mind, but also reflects the brand’s approach to sustainability.  “Let’s face it, consumers are looking for brands that are responsible, and I think, given our long history of sustainability, it’s just a step in the right direction,” he said. Next-gen appliances According to Dalcourt, over 90 per cent of the products Miele makes are fully recyclable, and their timeless designs mean customers don’t end up replacing dated-looking appliances before they wear out. Miele is also constantly innovating to make its products more efficient when it comes to energy and water consumption.  “What you’re seeing in refrigeration is actually around the preservation of food and making sure you have the right temperature to have your fruits and vegetables last a lot longer in the refrigerator or freezer,” he said. “We really try to stay away from the ‘gimmicky’ aspects of technology and [focus on] what consumers are looking for.” For instance, Miele has developed a smart dosing system for its dishwashers and washing machines that can dispense the correct amount of cleaning product based on the amount of dishes or clothing in the machine and how dirty they are.  The next step on Miele’s sustainability journey involves moving out of its old Knoxfield headquarters, about 27km outside of Melbourne, and into a new five-star green building in Hawthorn, which is closer to Melbourne’s city centre. That is set to occur later this year.