First Secretary of State and Leader of the House of Commons William Hague MP was the VIP guest at Beko's 25th anniversary celebrations attended by retailers, distributors and housebuilders at Wembley Stadium yesterday.
Hague was joined by Emirhan Yorulmazlar, Turkey’s Consul General to the UK, and Beko’s constituency MP, Richard Harrington, for a tour of the exhibition at Wembley, which included appliances from Beko, Grundig, Leisure and Blomberg. The exhibition also featured the ‘Kitchen of the Future’, which aimed to show how the company is designing technology to meet both consumer and sustainability demands.
Hague said: "Beko is a great company – it is investing in R&D to always stay ahead of the game, it is making the most of the talent of its employees, supporting local communities and helping protect the environment.
UK MD Teresa Arbuckle announced a new campaign at the event, which will include a TV advert to mark the UK launch of Beko's worldwide sponsorship of FC Barcelona. Arbuckle said the ad, to be aired on Sky Sports on 22 March, is expected to reach one million viewers. She said a new logo, website homepage and Facebook page will also be launched as part of the campaign.
Beko has sold more than 25 million appliances in the UK and Ireland since 1990. Arbuckle's predecessor Ragip Balcioglu – now international sales director of Beko’s parent company Arçelik – added that Beko's share in the UK market has doubled since 2005.
Pictured left to right: Ragip Balcioglu, William Hague and Teresa Arbuckle