South Korea’s Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corp. said its wall-mounted front-loading washing machine sold out during China’s Singles Day, a Black Friday-like shopping extravaganza on Nov. 11.

According to the Korean appliances company on Monday, 32,000 units of its “Mini” washers sold out in 17 hours after China’s biggest shopping event Singles Day kicked off. This means 31 units were purchased per minute, with total sales more than five times its average monthly sales, said the company. The washing machine was sold through China’s major e-commerce platforms such as Tmall, JD.com and suning.com.

Singles Day is China’s and the world’s biggest online shopping event that takes place every Nov. 11. It started in 1999 as a day for students to celebrate their singledom. In 2009, the Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba transformed the “anti-Valentine’s Day” to a global shopping festival by offering steep discounts on its online shopping platform Tmall.

Since 2014, Dongbu Daewoo has been actively promoting its mini washing machines during China’s online shopping bonanza. Its sales marked 1,200 units in 2014 and gradually grew over the years to 5,109 in 2015 and 20,000 in 2016 to hit an all-time high this year.

The Mini is an ultra-small washing machine that is 30.2 centimeters in width with a loading capacity of 3 kilograms. Compared with its larger rivals, the mini washer offers higher energy efficiency and faster washing time, the company said. The Mini currently commands a 65 percent share in China’s small washer market, according to the company.

Dongbu Daewoo said it sold over 4,000 of its products, including refrigerators and microwaves in its retro-style Classic line, during the event.

By Lee Dong-in and Kim Hyo-jin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]