Whirlpool 2005 Annual Report Download - page 7

Whirlpool Corporation 3
Innovation …
Driving Growth and Customer Loyalty
The success of our global business is driven by a spirit of
creativity, passion and resourcefulness within all our people.
Our strategy is to enrich the value of our products and
brands. Customer loyalty is an important element of this
approach, and Whirlpool innovation enables our people to
create the products and services that delight our customers
and grow shareholder value. Over the last six years, we’ve
worked hard to make innovation a key capability across the
organization, an enabler that sets us apart from others and
a key factor in creating long-term value. This has been a
massive transformation of our company and continues to be
at the top of our priorities moving forward.
We consistently invest in the support and
development of our global innovation capability and product
pipeline. We’ve now more than doubled our potential
revenue from innovation from $1.3 billion in 2003 to $3.3
billion in 2005. We’ve achieved our goal of producing a
pipeline with more than $3 billion in potential steady-state
value to ensure continuous brand loyalty and revenue growth
over time. And as a result, we successfully launched more
than twice as many new products in 2005, and in half the
time, compared to when we began our
innovation process six years ago.
Staying the Course
In addition to distinguishing our global products and brands
through innovation, we also continued our focus on
achieving the best cost and highest quality products, and
providing the best trade service in the industry.
We expanded our low-cost manufacturing capacity
with the inauguration of a new cooking factory in Poland,
and by constructing new refrigerator and washer plants
in Mexico.
Working broadly with our trade customers, we
helped provide training for hundreds of their sales associates
on how to introduce our innovations on showroom floors.
We’re also making significant strides in the contract home-
builder channel, which remains an important entry way for
us to launch our new innovation in the new home segment
of the market.
Maytag Acquisition
During 2005, we announced an agreement to acquire Maytag
Corporation, and Maytag shareholders gave their over-
whelming approval before the end of the year. Successfully
completing the acquisition, for which regulatory approval is
pending, will allow us to accelerate the introduction of our
innovation to a broader set of consumers through the
Maytag portfolio of brands. It will enhance the efficiency of
our business, and enable us to more effectively work with
our trade customers to offer improved value to consumers.
Our strategy is to enrich the value of our products and brands.
Customer loyalty is an important element of this approach, and Whirlpool innovation
enables our people to create the products and services that delight our customers
and grow shareholder value. — Jeff M. Fettig
Jeff M. Fettig,
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Whirlpool Corporation