By Cho Mu-hyun
Daewoo Electronics, one of Korea’s leading home appliance makers, said Wednesday that more than 500,000 of its 15-liter capacity microwaves have been sold worldwide.
The mini microwave, targeted at young singles, is the same width as a 20-liter microwave made by the company and competitors, but is slightly shorter, said Daewoo.
Since being launched in August 2010, it has sold over 100,000 models locally and is currently exported to 30 different countries.
Sales in the U.K. reached 10,000, in Chile 30,000 and in Eastern Europe 70,000 last year, beyond the firm’s expectations. The company said demand was from foreign consumers who want compact microwaves with simple functions such as defrosting and high heating.
“Our 15-liter microwave shows that slight differences in design can make a stand-out product,” said Daewoo spokesman Kwon Dae-hoon. “We will continue to offer price-competitive and stylish compact microwaves aimed at singles to build on our lead in the area.”
The home appliance maker is producing a range of compact products, aimed at the increasing number of unmarried young people whose demand for smaller electronic devices continues to increase, said Kwon, adding that the company will widen its portfolio of smaller-sized microwaves, refrigerators and washing machines to meet market demands.