Whirlpool Case Study

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Whirlpool Corporation, headquatered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, is the world’s number one appliance company. The company sells more than $18 billion worth of ‘white goods’ each year; this category includes refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, dryers, and microwave ovens. Whirlpool’s success has been achieved, in part, by offering a brand portfolio of products in different price ranges. These include the premium KitchenAid and Maytag brands as well as the medium priced Amana and Whirlpool brands. Not surprisingly, the global economic crisis has translated into lower sales in North America and Europe, where Whirlpool generates nearly 75% of its revenue. By contrast, sales in Latin America and Asia are showing double digit gains. Whirlpool is not new to foreign markets; for example, the company has had a presence in Latin America since 1957. Today, it is the market share leader there, offering global brands (Whirlpool, KitchenAid and Maytag) as well as local (Brastemp) and regional ones (Consul). At the beginning of 1993, David Whitwam, then-chairman and CEO of Whirlpool Corporation, told and interviewer, “5 years ago we were essentially a domestic company. Today about 40% of our revenues are overseas, and by the latter part of this decade, a majority will be.” The CEO’s comments came 3 years after he placed his first bet that the appliance industry was globalizing. By acquiring Philips Eletronics’ European appliance business for $1 billion, Whirlpool vaulted into the number three position in Europe. Whitwam pledged another $2 billion investment in Europe alone. As the decade of the 1990s drew to a close (come to an end), however, Whitwam’s ambitious plans for expanding beyond Europe into Japan and the developing nations in Asia and Latin America had not achieved the desired results. Noting that Whirlpool stock

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