Whirlpool 2007 Annual Report Download - page 6

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CHAIRMAN’S LETTER P.4
International Growth
We are seeing tremendous growth in emerging markets
where product penetration levels, across most categories,
are extremely low. Many of the larger emerging markets
have produced double-digit growth in recent years.
During the last 10 years, we've developed a very strong
consumer brand position in more established countries.
And we continue to expand our brand portfolio across all
product categories.
In 2007, for example, we introduced KitchenAid major
appliances to the European marketplace to compete in the
premium segment. This expansion presents a significant
growth opportunity, moving us into a high-margin, fast-
growing market segment — premium appliances.
In today’s global marketplace, we are positioning ourselves
to be a company that is flexible and agile with boundless
opportunities.
Innovation
Innovation not only attracts consumers to our brands,
it offers us a sustainable competitive advantage while
commanding higher margins. In 2007, we generated more
than $2.5 billion of worldwide revenue from new brand
innovations — well exceeding our target for the year —
and our robust pipeline of $4.5 billion will allow for
continued growth over time.
GLOBAL AVERAGE
SELLING VALUE PER UNIT
IMPACT FROM INNOVATION
AND PRODUCT MIX
Since 2002, the average selling value per unit has
increased at a compound rate of 6%
GROWTH IN INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS OVER LAST FOUR YEARS
(REVENUE - USD IN MILLIONS)
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
10%
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
2004 2005 2006 2007
Europe Latin America Asia
Operating
Margin %
$400
$375
$350
$325
$300
$275
$250
$225
$200
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07