The staff of the brand new Miele showroom on Wigmore Street – or ‘Experience Centre’ as they would rather call it – are fidgeting. The official opening is happening that evening and while all the preparations are complete there is a nervous anticipation that is making them all shuffle and watch the door.

“He’s here”, someone whispers and they all stand to attention as, through the arch of fresh flowers adorning the entrance, in walks the smart yet avuncular figure of Dr Reinhard Zinkann.

It’s not hard to see why his arrival is a big deal, he is, after all, not only the current co-owner of Miele, but also the great-grandson of one of its founders. What he thinks of this new endeavour matters.

After shaking the hand of every person there he launches into an off-the-cuff speech (fluent English of course) thanking them all for their hard work but, as he concludes, his phone rings and he discretely steps to the side to take the short call. “That was,” he declares to the room afterwards, “my 96-year-old father. He wanted to know if everything was ok with the new London showroom…”

Zinkann’s father, Peter, was also an executive director of the company alongside the father of the other current co-owner, Dr Markus Miele. The same is true of their fathers before them.

Founded by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann Sr, the company has been run as a partnership between the two families for 126 years. Starting with cream separators and butter machines in 1899, the now global brand hit a turnover of €5.04bn in 2024 and has around 23,500 employees.

The new Wigmore Street showroom marks another expansion of its Experience Centre strategy. Pre-covid there were two in the UK, now there are nine including ones in the Bluewater and Brent Cross shopping malls. The Edinburgh showroom, opened in 2021, was the company’s 100th globally. Designed, at first, to give retail partners somewhere to send clients interested in seeing more of the range, they attracted controversy by also openly selling directly to consumers – a model now adopted by many other appliance brands.

But, while there’s no question that the Miele brand is very powerful in the kitchen studio arena, the reputational stock of the appliance sector as a whole is still recovering from lockdown supply issues and debates around low margins, all against the backdrop of a depressed kitchen market. But for the reassuringly long-termist Dr Zinkann, this is all a mere blip. “Miele has seen many crises in the world in its history,” he says. “But there will always be people who want to pay the difference for quality…”

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Tell us about the current state of the market from your perspective.

The global market is very fragmented. There are countries – like Australia, Hong Kong, and Switzerland – that continue to perform strongly. Others remain stable and some are clearly struggling, impacted by inflation, recession, geopolitical tensions, or simply consumer uncertainty. But honestly, that’s not unusual. In Miele’s 126 year history, we’ve always seen regional highs and lows and the UK is no exception. Looking at the industry as a whole, things are challenging but not without hope and I see light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, the geopolitical relationships between the US, China, Russia, and Europe add layers of unpredictability. Nobody knows what Mr. Trump is thinking and a social media post can shift global economies overnight. It’s all very unclear so we can only do business as usual. It would not make sense to think, ‘the world is going downhill, what do we do?’ and it would equally make no sense to say, ‘yippee, we are riding at a fast pace towards a super bright future’. So we keep on track, we focus on consistency, on doing what we’ve always done.

How do things look closer to home, particularly across Europe?

Europe is in a difficult situation because it is not one single market. From the Baltics to the Mediterranean, from Central Europe to the UK, every region is facing its own specific set of challenges, which makes planning and mitigation difficult. What we do know is that Miele has always stood for one core principle – immer besser. And that belief doesn’t shift depending on the market conditions. Our mission is to produce the best product available. That’s been true throughout every crisis we’ve faced in our history from world wars to recessions, inflation, and the pandemic. What’s carried us through is staying true to that long-term vision. We’ve always served a customer who values durability and quality, someone who wants to pay the difference for quality. That customer will always exist.

Miele is a family business and, despite the difference in size, that focus on long-term thinking mirrors what we often see with family-run kitchen studios.

Exactly. That’s why we have such a natural connection with kitchen retailers, particularly those that are family-run. We’re both in it for the long haul. We both work with long product cycles and long customer relationships. The temptation in tough times is to diversify, to chase trends or short-term gains. But real success lies in doubling down on what you do best – offering something of real, lasting value. In our space, you can either compete on price in the mass market or stand out by delivering real value and differentiation. And that starts at every customer touchpoint – from the design consultation, to the showroom experience, to the explanation of why one appliance outperforms another. We can’t compete on price, and we never will. But look at premium kitchen brands like Bulthaup, Poggenpohl, or Boffi, they don’t compete on price either. We stand out by offering exceptional service and products that exceed expectations. 

With a brand as strong as Miele’s, it must be tempting to develop a lower-cost ‘Miele Lite’ range to hit the volume market. Why haven’t you?

It would be distracting to shift our focus from long-term quality to short-term volume. We’re not in that business. We don’t make products that are consumed and forgotten. We make things that become part of people’s homes for decades. That aligns us with the kitchen retailers because when you create a beautiful kitchen space, every element needs to work together long-term. We design appliances that fit seamlessly, function flawlessly, and last for years. How many people regret a purple fridge or gold handles a few years in? That’s where the retailer and Miele come together, both of us give the consumer something that he will have for a very long time.

There’s some debate over Miele’s direct-to-consumer model. How do you ensure it complements retailers rather than competes with them?

We’re very clear, our goal isn’t to take business away from our trade partners. It’s to grow the total market for everyone. Our Experience Centres are a crucial part of that. They help consumers understand the full potential of our products and get inspired. That inspiration takes them back to their kitchen retailer to complete their full project. We know the kitchen retailer is essential as they manage the whole customer journey, the full service and installation. So our role is to support, train, and empower them to win the customer. If our partners don’t grow with us, we’ve failed. It’s that simple.

Direct sales meant your Experience Centres were once seen as controversial. What’s the overall strategy now the model has expanded?

It’s all part of a clear omni-channel strategy. The world has changed, retail has changed. So we’ve had to evolve how we engage with consumers. That means being present in showrooms, online, and in retail spaces like shopping malls. It also means selling online, something that would’ve been unthinkable 10 or 15 years ago. But the reality is, consumers expect that now. People need to touch, feel, and experience our appliances to really understand what makes them different. That’s especially important when market conditions get tougher. When money is tight, consumers want to be sure they’re making the right decision. Helping them experience the difference is the best way to build confidence in their purchase.

Margins on appliances are a big concern for retailers. Some even call it a ‘necessary evil’. What’s your take on that?

Margins are definitely under pressure, no doubt. As prices come down in competitive markets, margins inevitably get squeezed. That’s a reality we all live with. But we want the dealers to earn a good margin. And they probably earn a better margin on a Miele product and it’s also the better solution for their client. So, yes, the understanding of value and price points is changing in the market and, as such, margin needs are changing as well. You are always balancing margin and price.

What did Miele learn from the pandemic about its supply chain and service to the trade?

The pandemic turned every forecast and plan on its head. We anticipated a downturn and instead saw a surge in demand as people invested in their homes. That was good for sales but created huge pressures on our supply chain. When lockdowns ended, the market cooled again, and that hit us because we had set everything up for growth. As such, we had to undergo, and we’re still undergoing, a quite difficult restructuring process. That is a definite learning – always bear in mind things can change. The biggest lesson? Even though we manufacture more in-house than most to control quality and durability, we’re still reliant on global supply chains. When chip production collapsed, so did appliance availability. In some cases, people had to wait 16 weeks for a washing machine. That’s unacceptable and not the kind of experience we ever want to offer. So we’re investing heavily in supply chain resilience.

How important is sustainability to Miele’s philosophy?

Sustainability is fundamental. If a product is designed to last 20 years or more, that’s sustainable by nature. But beyond that, we’re fully committed to minimising our environmental impact through energy- and water-efficient products, sustainable manufacturing processes, and responsible sourcing. It’s not just about ticking regulatory boxes. It’s about doing the right thing for future generations. 

And finally, what’s the next thing in appliances?

Connectivity. Without a doubt. Artificial intelligence is entering our space rapidly, and it’s going to revolutionise how appliances interact with consumers. From diagnostics to detergent dosing, energy savings to maintenance alerts, it can make appliances easier to use, and more responsive. But it’s vital that we never lose sight of the core principles – quality, durability, technology, and sustainability and that’s it. Simply be different. Immer besser!