Zerowatt brand on sale in Australia

[ozhoover]

I'm back home in OZ for a couple of weeks and I noticed today that Zerowatt washing machines are now on sale in here.

They are the Hoover Optima's rebadged Zerowatt but the thing I noticed is they are made in China and not Italy like the UK version of the same machine.....

So I guess they must be coming out of Candy's Jinling manufacturing plant in China as I can see the range on their website.

The below model is retailing for about A$ 799.00

Mark

 

[haxisfan]

That's unusual!

Really... the brand Zerowatt was always meant only for some regional markets, I'm surprised to see it oversea! It's identical to the one sold in Italy which is usually cheaper than her sisters Hoover and Candy. This model is also sold in other markets (I think Spain, Serbia, etc.) and it's called Candy Optima... perhaps they're all made in China as the historical Zerowatt site was closed quite some years ago.

I nearly bought one for my parents to replace their ever breaking down Indesit as there was a special offer online... however they refused as they think that they should buy a washer in a retail shop instead (once bitten, twice shy: the Indesit was purchased online). They haven't replaced it yet though... I might still be able to have another go persuading them next time their washer breaks ;-)

 

[nrones]

Optima

Hi! They are sold out there as Zerowatt brand, because Candy is not allowed to sell washers under "Hoover" name in Australia, because there is other Hoover, not owned by Candy there.

There are these machines sold under variety of names in Europe, however all of them come either from Russia or Italy.

The Jingling factory in China is totally dedicated to Asian market, however it is logical that if machines are going to Australia, it is much cheaper and easier to transport them from china, rather than Italy. Just like it would be pointless to sell Chinese Candy in Serbia, with Italy less than 800km away

One more interesting info - With start of 2012 they started putting stronger control panel (buttons) and knob selector in all Optima washers.

Dex

 

[ronhic]

The Hoover brand in Australia (other than vacuum cleaners) is actually owned by electrolux.

 

[dj-gabriele]

Wow, 799 AUD is almost 630€, are they launching Zerowatt as a superior brand?
Good for them!

So Hoover is owned at least from three different firms,
Electrolux in Australia, Candy in Europe and TTI in the USA!

 

[ronhic]

No, not at all. It's the same basic price as an electrolux or basic Bosch. Let's not forget that a Miele here starts at $1500.

 

[foraloysius]

Apparently is a trend to let old appliance brand names relive. Unfortunately they are nothing like the original machines of these brands, which is ofcourse rather disappointing. I'm not saying they have to be bad products, but it's more of the same, just with a different name tag.

 

[dj-gabriele]

it's more of the same, just with a different name tag

Too bad isn't it?
Anyway ZeroWatt name wasn't ever removed from the marked here in Italy, they even co-branded Hoover for a time as ZeroWatt-Hoover when they introduced the brand here after Candy acquisition.

800 AUD for a basic washing machine!? :O Wow! I can get that very same model for 350€ and it's not made in China! I didn't know appliances were so expensive down under!

 

[jetsystem1200]

Has anyone noticed that it only says 4kg above the door? Is this because it uses a smaller drum than the Italian models?

 

[dj-gabriele]

The 4 kg one is only 33 centimeters deep. (see the attached link)
Otherwise in standard size they have models up to 8 Kg

Haier Europe

Haier Europe is part of Haier Smart Home, the number one group globally in home appliances and among the Fortune Global 500 Companies.

www.zerowatt.it

 

[solsburian]

Does anyone know if the Hoover Six styled Zerowatt machines are produced in Russia?

I'm betting it will only be a matter of time before we see Chinese sourced Candy machines in Europe. BSH and Indesit already do it to an extent.

 

[ronhic]

$800 if you pay retail....

It is possible to get a rebadged Beko made and fully specced 5kg machine for around $400 from an online retailer.

Let's not forget too, that it is only of late that our dollar has been worth as much as it is in comparison to the Euro/us dollar....then have a look at average annual wages. Ours are around the AUD$60000....

 

[MrX]

Wages don't factor into imports, you're being absolutely gouged at that price!
I'd say it's down to being a relatively remote market and/or a lack of competition at the wholesale side of things i.e. a few large importers.

 

[nrones]

Zerowatt brand

foraloysius and dj-gabriele,
Officially brand was off-production for 2 years (2010 and 2011), you could probably see them of supplies that left over after a stop of production, or on some not very updated websites, however as far as production concerned they were off. Since it was down only for 2 years, even the design and model numbers remained the same for re-launch as they were before

solsburian,
No machines in any factory are produced in style of Smart/nextra or any older design than GrandO-Vision-Optima. If you thought that from russian Vyatka website - it is seriously outdated.. maybe as far as 2006...

Anyways, for the end, here is the newest Zerowatt catalogue 2012 (link)

Haier Europe

Haier Europe is part of Haier Smart Home, the number one group globally in home appliances and among the Fortune Global 500 Companies.

www.zerowatt.it

 

[dj-gabriele]

@nrones

I had no idea the name was pulled for two years but indeed I've seen Zerowatt machines scattered all over, at least it has been reintroduced!

 

[ronhic]

Mrx

Never forget, people will charge as much as the market will bear....