LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Aug. 1, 2018 – GE Appliances (GEA), a Haier company, announced today the launch of its new Café brand with The Matte Collection, the brand’s first line of customizable, modern kitchen appliances. Disrupting the industry’s sea of stainless with brushed bronze, brushed stainless, brushed copper and brushed black hardware and luxury matte finishes, Café’s Matte Collection offers a line of appliances for the stylish consumer shopping within a mass premium price range.
GEA made a bold and strategic move from a largely single GE brand focus to a unique house of brands umbrella, which gave Monogram®, GE Café™, GE®, GE Profile™, Haier and Hotpoint their own identities among the owner segments they were crafted to serve. This house of brands model enables GEA to quickly pivot and seize new opportunities to create value for diverse groups of consumers by designing product lines that meet their needs, interests, lifestyles and budgets. The launch of Café, which replaces GE Café™, is reflective of GEA becoming more responsive to the unique consumer the brand serves. Knowing and serving owners better than any other appliance company is a part of GEA’s goal to become the leading major appliance business in the U.S.
“After significant research to understand consumers’ needs and wants, we uncovered a white space in the current appliance market for Café to offer the style-driven consumer options to personalize a kitchen—down to the finer details that matter,” said Rick Hasselbeck, chief commercial officer, GE Appliances. “Before today, consumers did not have the chance to personalize their appliances and bring them into the overall design of the kitchen at an affordable price. Café marries luxury with affordability and encourages consumers to be bold in their choices, as the hardware can continually be updated to fit the latest trends and style preferences.”
Reflecting the ever-evolving design and style trends in cabinet hardware and mixed metals, Café offers consumers the opportunity to mix and match handles and knobs to keep appliances as stylish as the rest of the home.
Custom Hardware and Premium Finishes Bring Luxury and Style to the Mass Consumer
Custom Hardware Choices
The Matte Collection, offered commercially in suites of Matte White with brushed bronze and in a separate offering of Matte Black with brushed stainless hardware, allows consumers to order additional hardware if they choose to re-design the look.
Copper, a classic kitchen staple in both décor and high-end cookware, is the signature Café metal. Each handle in The Matte Collection will carry a copper cuff with a discreet Café logo. Soft brushed copper hardware will also be offered as one of the custom hardware options available for order.
Additionally, consumers can select brushed bronze, brushed stainless or brushed black hardware as choices to customize either matte finish and complement their overall kitchen design.
Premium Finishes
Gone are the days of settling for only stainless steel appliances that may be incongruent with the design aesthetic of home kitchens. Today, the style-driven consumer – one who loves to entertain and keeps the pulse on the world of décor – is looking for appliances that will grow with his or her design vision. The Matte Collection’s premium finishes—in Matte White and Matte Black– are the answer in the move from sterile and standardized to custom and designer-worthy.
The Matte White finish complements premium cabinetry and works well with bronze-toned fixtures, resulting in a layered space that feels connected, clean and timeless. With a luxe look and a smudge-resistant, soft-touch feel, the Matte White finish offers a fresh approach to a staple kitchen color.
The Matte Black finish is inspired by the natural deep tones of wood and stone. Its depth and layering texture allows consumers to create a crisp, bold statement with room for thoughtfully added details.
Beginning with The Matte Collection, Café appliances will be available for order through mass retail and independent appliance stores in August 2018. Three U.S. GEA manufacturing plants, two in Kentucky and one in Lafayette, Georgia, will make Café cooking products, dishwashers and refrigerators. The collection will have a full suite of appliances, including: Wall ovens, ranges, cooktops, French door refrigerators, dishwashers and vent hoods. For more information, visit www.CafeAppliances.com.
View the Café lookbook here.
About GE Appliances
GE Appliances, a Haier company, creates “good things, for life” through our passion for great appliances and the happiness they can bring to every household. With the Hotpoint, GE®, Haier, Café™, GE Profile™ and Monogram® brands, owners have more choices for making their kitchens and homes amazing each day. Our products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners and water filtration systems. For more information, visit www.geappliances.com/our-company
