Loyalty to the Candy brand and the professional after-sales service are among the main reasons for the success achieved locally in the white goods sector by V. Demajo & Bros of Paola. This is how Salvatore Pepe, export area manager of Candy SpA, described the 50-year relationship between Candy SpA and their representatives in Malta.

Mr Pepe left Malta a few days ago after one of his regular visits for talks with Candy agents V. Demajo & Bros of Paola. The association between the two companies goes back to the appointment of V. Demajo & Bros as the first Candy agents abroad. Today the Candy Group, which is still family-run, has 12 manufacturing plants in six countries with 6,530 employees.

Today, through acquisitions, it controls household names in the white goods markets such as Kelvinator, Zerowatt and Hoover Europe. In all, the group produces over five million appliances yearly with an overall turnover of €1.1 billion. The Candy Group market share in Europe is 5.8 per cent, although on a national level in the various countries this percentage is quite different since loyalties to local brand names in the white goods market still persist.

Mr Pepe said that the market in Malta compares well with other European countries. The consumption of domestic appliances is relatively high and the variety is quite extensive. In the washing machine and built-in models, the pattern is similar to that in the UK.