Miele's method: make top-notch appliances

The Life: Markus Miele, managing partner of the Miele appliances company, discusses how he got his start in the family business and the strategy he's taking while expanding into the UAE.

Markus Miele, the managing partner and managing director of Miele, says sales in the UAE grew during the financial crisis. Courtesy Miele & Cie

Much like the vast majority of companies that are operating in the Gulf, family members have long been at the helm of Miele, a German home-appliances company. Markus Miele, whose great-grandfather co-founded the company, is the managing partner and managing director. He discussed entering the family business during a recent trip to Dubai.

How did you get your start in the business?

After finishing my degree as an industrial engineer, I wanted to gather experience in my profession in another large, family-run enterprise first. This concept of gaining experience elsewhere before a member of the Miele or [the other founding] Zinkann families can enter the employment of our own company is, by the way, also firmly embedded in the contract between our company stakeholders.

And where did you end up working?

In my particular case, the company of choice was Hella, the automotive component manufacturer, where I spent around two years in controlling. And then, back in 1999, Miele's CFO at the time made me an offer I could not resist. Nor did I want to.

Had you ever wanted to pursue a career outside of the family business?

If things had turned out that way, I would not have had a problem with that either. But, having said that, it is of course something quite special to work for a company one's own great-grandfather founded and which has been both in the joint ownership of, and run by, the two founding families for more than a century.

Your family's business first pushed into the UAE in 2003, and you just opened a new showroom in Dubai last month. But how do you intend to boost sales in this part of the world, particularly when Miele's appliances have long had a premium price?

Our premium price is directly related to the quality, unique features and exclusive benefits our products offer. With the downturn in economy, consumers are more concerned of how and where they spend their money. Quality is a bigger driver in the decision making, with consumers becoming more selective. This actually helped us grow the sales in the UAE. We plan to continue that growth and expansion through the premium kitchen furniture trade partners and our premium gallery recently launched, where in addition to the display area on the ground floor, we have created a space dedicated for our consumers to experience our products.

How have you tried to diversify the global business to ensure it remains profitable going forward?

Any company aspiring to endure in the marketplace must have either the cheapest or the best products. Miele has set its sights on being number one in terms of innovation, performance, durability … In pursuing these objectives, it has always been of great benefit that Miele is a family-run company, now in its fourth generation, that finances its investments from its own revenue and is independent of banks and other third-party lenders.