Side-by-side refrigerator: A hot status symbol for riche
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
If a fire strikes Rina's home, irreplaceable valuables such as photo albums and family heirlooms will not be on top of her priority of what-should-be-saved-first list.
"Instead, I will try to save my side-by-side refrigerator first," she said, acknowledging that moving the U.S.-made 120- kilogram sleek glass-paneled fridge worth Rp 24 million (US$2,515) by herself would be a bit problematic.
As more design-conscious Indonesians, such as Rina, are becoming affluent, sales of side-by-side refrigerators have grown by about 30 percent in the past several years, according to data from the Electronic Marketer Club (EMC), a Jakarta-based association of electronic producers.
"It's the fastest growing segment in the refrigerator market," said EMC spokesman Stefanus Indrayana, who is also the marketing director for PT Electrolux Indonesia.
"Customers love the design of side-by-side refrigerators. Therefore, the prices have come down as manufacturers have aggressively marketed them over the past two years," he said, adding that current prices range from Rp 10 million to Rp 40 million.
A side-by-side refrigerator has a larger storage capacity, reaching up to 600 liters, compared to the more traditional two- door top-mounted models. The side-by-side models also need less space when users open their two doors of a freezer, usually on the left, and a cooler, on the right.
According to data from the EMC, about 80 percent of the 1.9 refrigerators sold in Indonesia are single-door models. The remaining 20 percent are two-door models, dominated by top- mounted refrigerators, where the freezer is located separately above the cooler and usually on the topside.
Indrayana said although sales of side-by-side refrigerators nationwide accounted for less than 10 percent of all two-door models, they had become more popular in the capital where 70 percent of the side-by-side refrigerators are sold.
"It's become sort of a status symbol and to in vogue, it's a must-have item for affluent Indonesians," he said.
Hendrik Hidayat, who is in charge of marketing side-by-side units for South Korean company LG Electronics, said sales of the completely built up side-by-side models reached 30 percent of LG's total refrigerator sales at certain upscale electronic outlets in Jakarta.
"The growth in sales has come mostly by word of mouth," he said.
LG claims to top the side-by-side market, with a 43 percent market share, closely trailed by another South Korean company Samsung with roughly 30 percent.
A manager at a leading electronics store, who wished to remain anonymous, said the side-by-side models had accounted for about 50 percent of refrigerator sales at stores located in affluent communities such as Pondok Indah in South Jakarta, Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta and Lippo Karawaci in Tangerang.
"Buyers in those areas have pockets full of money," said the manager. "For them prices do not matter, but design and prestige do."
The manager said customers commonly had already made up their mind that they would buy a side-by-side refrigerator before coming to the store.
"They come in to find fridges that match their kitchen set designs," said the manager, adding that the majority of buyers were not interested in the functionality of the freezers. "However, a minor detail, such as the angle of a handle, is cause for concern for them."
Rina, who purchased her refrigerator three years ago, agreed that design, not usefulness, was the number one reason for her purchase.
"It simply looks nice," she said, adding that she only used about 30 percent of the freezer's 525 liter capacity. (002)