Hustle East Africa Magazine interviews Sam Odhiambo, head of Consumer Electronics at Samsung. Excerpts below.
- Tell us About the Bespoke Home range of Consumer Electronics
When the Bespoke line was first introduced in 2019, Samsung Electronics wanted to reimagine the role home appliances play in a household, both in appearance and function. Later, Bespoke would expand into more kitchen appliances and then the rest of the home with living appliances, introducing more color and material options. The team behind Bespoke’s designs decided that a continuous cycle of new colors for Bespoke appliances would make it easier for users to find the design that best reflected their unique lifestyle. For users who may find deciding on home décor daunting, in 2021, Samsung introduced the Bespoke AI Recommendation service in Korea. This service helped make appliance designing more accessible with the help of AI. Users would upload photos of their homes or designs they liked, and the AI would analyze the images to come up with color recommendations that fit best in that environment. You can read more about it here.
- What is the major difference between Bespoke Home and the other Samsung range of Consumer Electronics?
The meaning of the word Bespoke is customization. At Samsung when we say Bespoke we mean encompassing the latest trends of modularity and personalization in the home, with electronics that can be customized to suit individual styles and storage needs. The Bespoke range of consumer electronics offers the home owner an opportunity to style their home in a way that reflects their personality as well as required functionality. The Bespoke range started with the Bespoke refrigerators in 2021 and has more recently evolved to Bespoke Home that has everything from Refrigerators, ovens, washing machines and many more
- Is the Kenyan market ready for luxury consumer electronics?
A report by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth ranked Kenya only second to South Africa in the luxury market, noting that hotels, lodges, cars, private jets and classic jewellery are big sources of private wealth. This means that indeed Kenyan’s are ready and already consuming luxury consumer electronics. The recently concluded Luxury Living and Design Expo hosted at the Village market is a testament to that. As Samsung the Bespoke refrigerator has done quite well in the Kenyan market and we hope that the 2022 range will do even better.
- What has the uptake of the Bespoke range been in Kenya compared to the rest of Africa?
In Kenya we introduced the Bespoke Range with the Bespoke refrigerator in 2021 and the uptake has surpassed our expectation especially in the niche market. Our next step is to continue creating more awareness and accelerate sales uptake through strategic partnerships that resonate with lifestyle living.
- What do you expect the uptake of the 2022 range to be? Which Electronic do you think Kenyans will really buy?
In 2021 the uptake for AI enabled washing machines and the QLED TV’s was quite high with the 55 and 65 inch QLED’s being our strategic lineup to showcase Samsung innovation. This year we anticipate the Frame TV and the Bespoke refrigerator will take center stage in showcasing Samsung innovation and differentiation in the Kenyan market. Our customers have high expectation to the Samsung brand and thus look forward to giving them the best in terms of value proposition with Frame TV and Bespoke lineup.
![Canon (www.Canon-CNA.com) today announces the Colorado XL-series, a new platform of 3.4m printers that extends the proven advantages of Canon's UVgel technology to the 3.2m graphics market. Available in hybrid and roll-to-roll configurations, the modular, field upgradable platform powered by UVgel technology delivers great versatility and exceptional productivity for both flexible and rigid media applications from signage and décor to point of sale and packaging. The Colorado XL-series comprises two easy-to-operate models: the Colorado XL7 roll-to-roll printer and Colorado XL7 hybrid printer. The new series brings the benefits of UVgel to a new market segment with exceptional application versatility across a comprehensive range of media – from banner, paper, vinyl and films to soft signage, heat-sensitive materials, foam board, fluted polypropylene, acrylic, aluminium composite boards and cardboard – providing the flexibility to tackle diverse customer requirements. With print speeds of 70m² per hour in quality mode, 106m² per hour in production mode and up to 211m² per hour in express mode, the system delivers the productivity needed for demanding production environments while accommodating substrates up to 52mm/2 inches thick for rigid applications. The new platform includes multiple technology innovations, such as the UVgel 860 ink set, which has been optimised to cover a wide variety of both rigid and flexible applications. It also provides the proven benefits of UVgel: odourless and instant-dry prints, high mechanical and chemical robustness, dimensional stability due to low-temperature curing, excellent colour consistency, TPO [1] - and VCL [2] -free, and matte and gloss finish without the need of a separate varnish. The Colorado XL-series also incorporates new UVgel 850 PrintHeads. Each printhead has 4,544 nozzles and features automated built-in nozzle performance monitoring and compensation. A single printhead supports two colours simultaneously, so that only two printheads are required to print CMYK, plus an optional third if white is configured. Additionally, the Colorado XL-series has an agile and precise printhead carriage that features UVgel DynamicMotion Control to ensure exceptional print quality even with challenging media. Taking the UV LED curing process to the next level, the Colorado XL-series introduces UVgel FullBeam Curing. This technology uses a unique 3.4-metre-wide LED curing array that, combined with an ingenious mirror system, delivers consistent UV light dosing across the entire print width, guaranteeing exceptional print uniformity over large surfaces and enabling a wider colour gamut. Media handling is optimised by the new UVgel TRIdrive vacuum belt system, which features three interactive rollers and multiple powerful vacuum zones that reduce wrinkling and skewing by automatically detecting and correcting the media positioning. This results in highly repeatable media transport through the printer, ensuring accurate positioning both longitudinally and laterally and enabling razor-sharp applications. Optional features for the Colorado XL-series, which are already available on the highly successful and modular Colorado M-series, include: UVgel White for hassle-free white printing, FLXfinish+ for creative effects using matte or gloss or mixed matte and gloss on the same print without additional varnish, and FLXture for textured finishes that mimic materials like leather, wood or fabric. Mathew Faulkner, Director, Marketing & Innovation, Wide Format Printing Group, Canon EMEA, comments: "For the past decade, Canon has been at the forefront of the inkjet evolution in large format, with market-leading technologies including the Colorado roll-to-roll printer series powered by UVgel technology and the Arizona flatbed printers. Large format print providers are looking for systems that deliver high productivity, versatile applications and reliable quality while addressing the challenge of finding skilled operators – which is why Canon is launching our new, breakthrough Colorado XL-series, an addition to our portfolio that will set a new standard in productivity and versatility. “This innovative solution brings the proven advantages of our unique UVgel technology to the 3.2m market for the first time, combining it with extensive automation and a modular design that will enable customers to extend their application possibilities into markets such as packaging and décor. Print service providers already producing high-value signage and graphics can now leverage UVgel's distinctive finishes, including mixed gloss and matte effects and textured printing, at scale to stand out in these new markets. And with its hybrid capabilities, users can print both roll-to-roll and rigid applications on the same device, using the same ink, the same colour profiles and the same unique features and finishes. For brands, for example, this translates to seamless campaigns that span the full spectrum of applications, ensuring perfect consistency across campaign assets whether they're roll-fed graphics, rigid signage, packaging, or décor elements. This is particularly valuable when these different applications appear side by side in-store, where maintaining that consistent quality and finish elevates the entire brand experience that today's brands demand." The Colorado XL-series will be available from the beginning of 2026 via Canon’s direct sales organisations as well as from accredited partners. For more information about the Colorado XL-series, please visit: https://apo-opa.co/3WltKtM](https://businessinsights.africa/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/canon_prograf-218x150.png "Canon expands large format graphics production portfolio with new 3.4m Colorado XL-series")
