Dongbu Daewoo eyes bigger U.S. presence

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics, one of the industry’s smaller but growing players, on Wednesday said it was strengthening its ties with leading U.S. retailer Wal-Mart by stepping up its supply of microwave ovens.

A total of 500,000 units are to be supplied to Wal-Mart, which is more than double the number of ovens Dongbu Daewoo provided last year.

Under the deal, the electronics maker in April started to supply 50,000 ovens, which were distributed to nationwide Wal-Mart stores and subsequently sold out.

The company said the key to its bolstered partnership was starting out small yet strategically. Microwave ovens are a reflection of this vision as the U.S. market is a boon for these machines due to the large number of people who rely on frozen dinners.

With the supply, the Seoul-based electronics maker is expecting to grab an 8 percent market share of the U.S. microwave market to come close on the heels of Emerson, the U.S. brand that is currently leading the industry.

By 2014, Dongbu Daewoo hopes to become one of the top three microwave oven brands in North America.

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics, born earlier this year after Dongbu Group took over Daewoo Electronics, has a goal for this year involving strategies for increasing its sales 25 percent from last year.

“This year marks our initiative for entering the U.S. market in earnest, and we plan to reach our goals by steadily expanding our sales network based on strategic tie-ups with major retailers,” said Baek Jong-ku, head of Dongbu Daewoo’s North American marketing unit.

The tie-ups involve wholesaler Costco and leading consumer electronics retailer Best Buy, with which Dongbu Daewoo is in talks for diversifying its lineup of electronic products to the retailers’ online stores.

Over the longer term, the Korean company hopes to sell more directly in Costco and Best Buy’s brick-and-mortar stores.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)