Miele increases turnover by 6.4%
Gütersloh, August 15, 2016 – The Miele family company has once again seen significant increases in both turnover and staffing levels: The world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances achieved a turnover of € 3.71 bn in the 2015/2016 financial year ending June 30, 2016. This is € 224 m or 6.4% more than during the previous year. For the first time, Miele employs a staff of more than 18,000. During the period under review, Miele invested a total of € 184 m.
With these figures, Miele has once again achieved its strategic goal of growing steadily and sustainably, notwithstanding economic cycles. The current growth in turnover was 'organic', i.e. without the purchase of other manufacturers or brands and without third-party capital. And, as in the previous year, sales growth was once again well above the average rate of the past 10 years.
The Miele board of management amounts this achievement all the more highly in view of the fact that worldwide framework conditions 'did not exactly put wind in our sails'. Notable are the outworkings of the crises in Arabia, Russia and Turkey, as well as the turn taken by exchange rates. A challenge was also presented by the aggressive pricing of well-known competitors. This is countered by the German premium player with Miele's proverbial quality, a range policy commensurate with the brand and the market, high-end and fully equipped flagship models as well as entry-line and promotional models with a greater focus on value for money. Once again, built-in appliances have made an above-average contribution to growth.
Dynamic growth in USA, Australia, Asia – and Germany
In Germany, Miele achieved sales of € 1.1 bn, representing an increase of 6.9%. As a result of this, Miele has expanded its position as the brand of major domestic appliances with the highest turnover through specialist electrical goods retailers and is now even No. 1 in the kitchen studios as well. Outside Germany, sales grew by 6.3%, whereby notable gains were reported by USA, Australia, Great Britain and China. In Russia, despite political instability and currency drops, sales were maintained on par with the previous year in local currency. In Southern Europe, the upward trend was consolidated, despite the continuing debt crisis. As a result of above-average growth on the German home market, the foreign share of sales still fell marginally from 70.3% to 70.1%.
Miele Professional records € 476 m in sales
Miele's Professional business unit, comprising laundry technology, commercial dishwashing, disinfectors and sterilizers for medical applications and laboratories, achieved sales of € 476 m. This amounts to a year-on-year increase of € 27m or 6.0% compared with the previous year, with growth coming from all categories. Medical technology deserves particular mention, with new model series and a persistent expansion of the system supplier philosophy through to the planning and equipping of entire central sterile supply departments (CSSDs) in hospitals. Professional's share of total turnover was 13% and the trend remains northbound.
Further expansion of worldwide sales and service structures
As per June 30, 2016, 18,370 employees were on the company's payroll. This equates to an increase of 629, or 3.5%. Growth came above all from Miele subsidiaries in the US, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Great Britain and Spain, where staffing levels in Sales and Service had to be beefed up in response to increasing turnover and unit sales. Due to good growth with entry-line dishwashers, additional staff has also been taken on at Miele's Uniçov production plant.
In Germany, a drop in the number of employees at Miele's sales operation on account of concentrating backoffice services at the company headquarters in Gütersloh was offset by new staff recruits at most German production plants to meet increases in output. On balance, the level of employment in Germany stands at 10,326, virtually on par with the previous year (down just 0.2%).
At the Miele Group's German locations there are currently 466 young people enrolled in one of 33 commercial or technical apprenticeship courses. Around 500 new apprentices will commence their training at the beginning of the new school year starting on September 1. Around 130 in this year's intake will embark on one of eleven dual degree courses. These represent a combination of an in-plant apprenticeship with a Bachelor's Degree in subjects such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, business studies, industrial engineering or commercial information technology.
Miele's 2015 sustainability report subscribes to the highest G4 reporting standards as per the leading Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Focal aspects include the energy efficiency of Miele products over their entire cradle-to-grave life cycle, personnel development and training as well as the company's long-term planning horizon. This also applies to environmental protection activities at company locations: Here, Miele has reduced energy consumption worldwide since 2000 by 18.4% despite a 70% growth in sales.
Substantial investments in production, sales and logistics
During the past business year, the Miele Group invested to the tune of € 184 m. This represents € 34 m, or 23%, more than in the previous year. This significant increase is the result of investments in the development of new model series, extension and conversion work at various production locations and an expansion of sales and logistics facilities in Gütersloh. The latter includes an extension of the high-bay distribution warehouse, a newly built central spare parts store and a new office wing. New or completely refurbished showrooms were inaugurated in metropolises such as Beijing, New York, Miami, Johannesburg, Vilnius, Bucharest, London and Vancouver.
Positive forecast for 2016/17 fiscal year
Miele senior management's comments on the forecast for the current fiscal year were 'reserved but optimistic'. This reflects the political and economic flash points around the world where an easing of tension is not in sight as well as the dampening effect the Brexit vote is likely to have on the economy. Nevertheless, Miele expects turnover, unit sales and market shares to continue to grow, without any further detailed quantification.
Impulses for growth came for example from tradeshow premieres during the reporting period, including the unveiling of TempControl for highly precise roasting and frying on induction cooktops and Miele's CM7 self-descaling countertop coffee machine. An absolute crowd pleaser at IFA 2015 was the elegant freestanding refrigeration products from the K 20.000 series with a blackboard door which serves as the family's communication hub. On the dishwashing front, attractively priced campaign models ('Active') played a significant role in tapping into new groups of buyers. The new G 6000 EcoFlex series with its unique combination of exemplary energy efficiency, short cycle times and exceptional loading convenience scored points. At the Milan Eurocucina trade show, Miele presented the world's first comprehensive range of handleless ArtLine built-in appliances featuring doors which open mechanically at the mere touch of a sensor. As a sequel, IFA 2016 will see the showcasing of Miele's first bagless vacuum cleaner which is characterised by excellent cleaning performance and superior user convenience. As the manufacturer of the broadest range of connected domestic appliances, Miele is continuously extending its line-up of models with wireless controls.
For more than a decade now, the results of the 'best brands' image study have underlined the special reputation of the Miele brand, based on a poll of many thousands of consumers and performed by the GfK market researchers along with other partners. Across all categories of the competition, Miele has remained No. 1 in this rolling ranking by a large margin. Further additions were made during the reporting period to the list of incumbent test winners (Stiftung Warentest), for instance with heat-pump dryers (TMB 640 WP), dishwashers (G 6200 SCi and SCVi) and ventilation hoods (in all three ventilation hood categories covered) where Miele was the sole test winner.
Change at board level
There has been a change to the Executive Board at Miele which has traditionally consisted of five Executive Directors with equal voting rights: A new (and temporarily sixth) member since April 1, 2016 is Dr. Stefan Breit who has assumed the role of deputy to the Executive Director for Technology. He is already successor-designate to Dr. Eduard Sailer, who is due to enter retirement at the end of 2016 after almost 19 successful years as Executive Director responsible for technical affairs. Stefan Breit has been in the employment of Miele since 2007 and is currently also responsible for Miele's Gütersloh appliance production plant. Other members of the Executive Board are Olaf Bartsch (Finances/Administration), Dr. Axel Kniehl (Marketing/Sales) as well as Dr. Markus Miele and Dr. Reinhard Zinkann, Co-Proprietors and Executive Directors, as representatives of the respective owning families.
