Newly formed BSH Home Appliances Saudi Arabia to drive growth of Bosch and Siemens home appliances business in the Kingdom

• Joint venture between Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group (BSH) and Mohammed Alawy Al Saggaff
• Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group has 40 years of dynamic market presence in Saudi Arabia
• New company highlights long-term growth plans with a focus on service and investment in regional centres; new Riyadh showroom later this year
• Focus on sustainable development through energy-efficient products

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; January 31, 2010: The newly-formed BSH Home Appliances Saudi Arabia LLC, a joint venture between Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group (BSH), the world’s number three and Europe’s number one in the home appliances sector, and Mr Mohammed Alawy Al Saggaff, the founder of Al Jezy Group, a diversified business group, will drive the growth of Bosch and Siemens products, renowned for their quality and technological superiority, in the Kingdom.

This is marked by the addition of an entire new range of high quality Bosch and Siemens products at the dedicated showroom of BSH Home Appliances Saudi Arabia LLC in Jeddah, located at Tahlia Street. A second showroom will open in Riyadh later this year.

The new joint venture, which builds on several decades of active presence of BSH in the Kingdom, is part of an expansion plan for significant growth, and leverages the growth potential offered by the Kingdom, the largest economy in the GCC region.

With a focus on enhanced services, BSH Home Appliances Saudi Arabia LLC, will work towards driving investments in three new regional centres to be managed by experienced professionals. The new entity will also play a key role in the socio-economic development of the Kingdom by promoting new jobs in sales, finance and marketing for Saudi nationals.

BSH Home Appliances Saudi Arabia LLC will further showcase the best selling and high-end Bosch and Siemens products in the Kingdom and undertake nation-wide marketing and sales strategies to enhance market reach and share. Service centers that draw on the market domain knowledge of Mr Al Saggaff, who has over 15 years of experience in marketing BSH products in the Kingdom, will be opened later this year.

In the presence of Mr Jean Dufour, Member of the Board of Management of the BSH Group, and Mr Mohammed Alawy Al Saggaff, the joint venture agreement was signed, at a ceremony in Jeddah.

Mr Dufour said: “BSH is bringing a new business dynamic to the home appliances sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - one of our largest markets in the Middle East region - with the new joint venture. This is part of our long-term commitment to the Kingdom, which envisages the opening of the dedicated showrooms and service centres as well as the introduction of a wide range of energy efficient and environment-friendly products.”

Mr Al Saggaff explained: “Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, which has proved remarkable resilience to the global financial crisis. Led by the visionary policies of the Government in creating new Economic Cities that drive domestic demand, the home appliances sector is poised for growth. BSH brings in the world’s best in consumer appliances, noted for their quality and technological advances, which will appeal to the upwardly mobile young Saudi population.”

Among the key drivers of the Saudi Arabian home appliances market is the rapid industrialization policy of the government that has created new jobs and thus boosted domestic demand. BSH products have already been chosen for high-profile projects in the Kingdom including King Abdullah Economic City, highlighting their quality and technological edge.

BSH’s range of domestic appliances finds resonance with the local consumers for their quality, energy & water efficiency and long life, which have been proved over the past several decades.

“Demand for Bosch and Siemens products is further complemented by the higher disposable income of the Saudi population, led by a strong middle income segment. Today, BSH appliances like microwaves, refrigerators, cooking ranges and smaller household products are considered essentials. Our new joint venture with Mr Al Saggaff, who has several years of experience in driving the marketing of our products in the Kingdom, will further strengthen our growth in the Kingdom,” said Mr Hartmut Wesenberg, Managing Director, BSH Home Appliances Saudi Arabia LLC.

One of the cutting edge benefits of Bosch and Siemens products is their energy and water efficiency. It is estimated that private households are the second largest consumer of energy world-wide and the third largest emitters of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Saudi Arabia also faces strong demand for power and water, thus highlighting the need for efficient consumer appliances.

“The introduction of energy and water efficient products through Bosch and Siemens will further add to the effort of the Kingdom to promote sustainable development. This will be further supported by our planned service centres that will further help customers to improve the efficiency of product usage,” said Mr Al Saggaff.

The BSH showrooms will also provide comprehensive consumer advice and information as well as assist in creating an energy labeling scheme. An exhibition of Bosch and Siemens products is currently ongoing at the Park Hyatt Jeddah. Visitors can get an overview of the differential that BSH brings to the Saudi Arabian market.

BSH’s product range includes cooling, washing, dishwashing, cooking appliances as well as smaller appliances including breakfast sets, food preparation accessories, vacuum cleaners, irons and personal care products, which suit diverse needs of the market.
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Note to Editors

About BSH:
BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, a joint venture between Robert Bosch GmbH Stuttgart and Siemens AG Munich founded in 1967, is a multinational group posting annual sales in the year 2009 of about 8.3 billion euros. Together with a worldwide network of sales and customer service companies, BSH now boasts about 60 companies in more than 40 countries with about 39,000 employees. BSH headquarters based in Munich; the 42 factories are in 13 countries in Europe, USA, Latin America and Asia. The company’s regional headquarters is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The extensive brand portfolio includes the main brands Bosch and Siemens as well as six special and five regional brands. The product range marketed under the various brands encompasses large and small home appliances, floorcare and hot water appliances. BSH is the largest manufacturer of home appliances in Germany and Europe, and one of the leading companies in the sector worldwide.

For further details go to www.bsh-group.com.

For further information, please contact:
Kelly Home / Meral Hassan
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
Tel: (+971 4) 334 4550