Whirlpool India

Whirlpool Global- Quick facts

Established in 1911, Lou Upton
Headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA
Manufactures in 13 countries
Sells in 170 countries
Sold under brand names:
-Kitchen Aid
Rosper
Estate
Bauknecht
Ignis
Laden
Inglis
Maytag
Brastemp
Consul
Jenn- Air
Amana

Principal supplier for Sears (kenmore brand)
Expanded since 1958- Brazil
World leader in home appliances in the early 80s
Fortune 500 company

Whirlpool India- Quick facts

Entered India in 1980s
Joint Venture with Sundaram Clayton to form
TVS Whirlpool Limited
First plant in Pondicherry (Faridabad, Pune)
Holds market share of 25%
Annual Turnover as of Mar 09- 1719 crores
Authorized distributor for Nepal: Nepal Hima
Trade Link


Vision
Every home..everywhere with pride passion
and performance

Mission
Everyone..creating loyal customers for life
Mergers and Acquisitions
Kitchen Aid in 1986
Kelvinator in 1995
Major Share in TVS in 1995
Both acquisitions merged to create Whirlpool
India
Maytag in 2006 (efficient supplies)


Success Factors
Industry Leader in Resources and capabilities
Innovation as a core competency, has innovation management
system
Portfolio expansion from washing machines to refrigerators,
microwave & airconditioners
Aggressive marketing and promotion strategies
Brand value creation strategies
Best cost and best quality
Global but local approach
Commitment to quality
Environmental friendly products
Lean manufacturing and operational efficiency to ensure
continuous improvements
Strong distribution and supplier channel

Future Strategies
Maximizing benefit of worldwide network of
resources
Invest more in research and development and
push on with the innovative strategies
Becoming an Agile global consumer products
company
Focus
High Volume Low Margin Sales
Commitment to customers
You and Whirlpool, the worlds best
homemaker.

Problems
Managing uncertainties in production costs- imported raw
materials( almost 35%)
Exchange Rate Fluctuations
Price or Oil & Copper
Countering external factors
Stream lining Supply chain
Preventing derailment of business plans
08 & 09 saw massive fluctuations in exchange rates,crude oil, steel
and copper prices
Intense competition caused prices to not vary. Leadership
threatened
Jeopardize business plans & projections- fighting fires
No diversified portfolio- more prone to risk
Erosion of shareholders wealth


Prices dropped from 46 to 40 to 52 again
profitability fell 12% in 08
Recommendations
Effective partnering with suppliers
Offering to buy a chunk on a part by part payment basis through agreed pricing (forward trading
and lock the anticipated change)
Volume sales will offset the exchange rate risks
Push strategy sales so that retailers stock more and prepare for stocking goods in warehouse
Cut down on R & D costs
Mitigate substantial speculative risks by creating a pool of experts that can handle hedging
effectively
Resort to debt financing by increasing the debt equity ratio else shareholders will be dissatisfied.
Tax advantages as well
Take more debt to have capacity to counter possible moves by competitors. Eg forward trading and
legal fees but which currency.
Handle systematic risks. Leave all others
Pricing flexibility: if possible change margins
Production and sales flexibility (shift markets and source resources quickly & utilizing production
capacity)
Focus on maintaining market share than increasing profitability
See the denomination prices of competitors- if indian currency rises then prices may have to be cut,
increase otherwise