LG Electronics will release a new shoe care appliance in 14 years since it installed a shoe care function at the bottom of the drum washing machine.
As LG Electronics will enter the shoe care appliance market, which is dominated by Samsung Electronics, competition is expected to intensify.
LG Electronics said on Tuesday that it will introduce a new premium shoe care solution "LG Styler Shoe Case and Shoe Care" at the IFA 2022 to be held in Berlin, Germany on September 2.
This product uses LG Electronics' flagship clothing care appliance LG Styler's steam technology.
It sterilizes and deodorizes the inside and outside of shoes by using 'True Steam' technology. It can also adjust the amount of steam spray depending on the type or material of the shoes.
Samsung Electronics launched its shoe care appliance "Bespoke Shoe Dresser" in May last year.
Samsung Electronics Bespoke Shoe Dresser is also applied with the same air wash technology as Samsung's clothing care appliance, Air Dresser.
By applying UV technology, it removes five types of odor-causing substances, including butanedione which causes odor, and viruses and harmful bacteria.
Industry sources predict that shoe care appliances will show a similar sales trend to clothing care appliances, which have become essential home appliances. As Samsung and LG enter the market, it is expected to significantly grow.
According to the industry, the size of the clothing care appliance market last year was around 600,000 units per year. This is twice as much as 300,000 units in 2018 and has grown nearly 10 times compared to 70,000 units in 2016.
In terms of amount, the market size has also grown rapidly. According to LG Electronics, the domestic clothing care appliance market size increased more than 13 times in 5 years from 29.4 billion won in 2015 to 393.7 billion won in 2020, and the number of countries where clothing care appliances were launched also increased 7 times in 2015 to 20 countries in 2020.
Related technology patent applications also significantly increased.
According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, applications for clothing care appliances to the world's top 5 patent offices (IP5), including Korea, the US, China, Europe, and Japan, have increased 27 per cent annually for 9 years (2011-2019) since 2011 when the first clothing care appliance was released in Korea.
As Air Dresser also manages shoes clean with deodorization, drying, and sterilization technologies, competition between the two companies is expected to intensify. (ANI/Global Economic)
( With inputs from ANI )
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