Whirlpool 2014 Annual Report Download - page 6

Whirlpool 2014AR p 20 / 21
Chairman’s Message
Executive Committee
Jeff M. Fettig
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer
Larry M. Venturelli
Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
João C. Brega
Executive Vice President and
President, Whirlpool Latin America
Joseph T. Liotine
Executive Vice President and
President, Whirlpool North America
Esther Berrozpe Galindo
Executive Vice President and
President, Whirlpool Europe,
Middle East and Africa
Marc R. Bitzer
Vice Chairman
David A. Binkley
Senior Vice President,
Global Human Resources
David T. Szczupak
Executive Vice President,
Global Product Organization
Michael A. Todman
Vice Chairman
Kirsten J. Hewitt
Senior Vice President,
Corporate Affairs, General Counsel
and Corporate Secretary
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Message from the Vice Chairmen — A New Platform for Growth
Standing: Marc R. Bitzer, Larry M. Venturelli, David A. Binkley, João C. Brega, Michael A. Todman, Esther Berrozpe Galindo
Seated: Kirsten J. Hewitt, Jeff M. Fettig, Joseph T. Liotine, David T. Szczupak
GROWTH IN EMEA
Our innovative products, margin expansion and growth opportunities
in the emerging Middle East, African and Eastern European countries
position our Whirlpool EMEA business for ongoing value creation as
the region’s economy recovers. We also have distinct advantages with
the acquisition of the Indesit Company, allowing us to double our scale
with minimal overlap. Indesit’s winning country, product and brand
portfolio are extremely complementary to ours, helping us to increase
our business — quickly.
We expect the integration to deliver at least $350 million in benefits by
2017. We will create synergies through procurement and our product
and operating platforms, but our real opportunity is to increase our
country coverage while offering complementary brands and products
to consumers throughout the EMEA region.
Another key advantage of this acquisition is enhanced product leadership. Indesit has strength
in combination washer/dryers, front-load washers, cooking ranges and a number of refrigerator
platforms. Whirlpool is the leader in built-in cooking, microwave ovens, top-load washers,
refrigeration and small appliances. When you combine these businesses and add our global
product innovation abilities, you have a very strong product leadership story throughout Europe.
We already have new product in the pipeline ready to launch.
In addition to product leadership, we also possess a well-rounded brand portfolio with
KitchenAid
and
Scholtès brands in the super premium position, Hotpoint-Ariston , Whirlpool and Bauknecht
brands in the mass premium segment, and
Indesit as our value brand.
Geographic growth is another significant strength. We are now No.1 in five countries: Russia,
United Kingdom, France, Italy and Poland. With these country positions and the increased
distribution, we have the scale to further strengthen all our brands and expand each brand’s
segment share.
In 2015, we will work through the integration in Europe, making progress on the synergies in
procurement and operations, while taking advantage of our newly increased scale and enhanced
product leadership. In addition, we will look to opportunities in Eastern Europe, Africa and the
Middle East, where there is a large population with low appliance penetration. I am confident
2015 will be a year of significant growth throughout the region.
Marc R. Bitzer
Vice Chairman
Marc R. Bitzer
Vice Chairman
GROWTH IN ASIA
There are tremendous growth opportunities for Whirlpool
Corporation in the Asia region, in particular in India and
China. Our presence in India is already strong; therefore we
are building on this by offering consumers at all economic
levels new, innovative products that deliver to their needs
and desires.
The acquisition of Hefei Sanyo allows us to quadruple our
platform in China by bringing increased distribution, new
manufacturing and service centers, and reaching more
consumers in the market. We see the incredible opportunity
in both markets because each has a growing middle-class
population, many of whom are first-time buyers of appliances
looking for new, innovative products that give them a better quality of life.
Hefei Sanyo is a healthy company that has consistently delivered strong operating
margins. They have produced primarily washers and recently added refrigerators
and microwave ovens and are entering into other product categories. They have a
strong manufacturing base with three factories and have ample capacity to enable
growth. Hefei Sanyo has more than 30,000 distribution outlets across China in both
rural areas and major cities, which is more than 10 times the outlets Whirlpool had
previously. Their brands are known and trusted in China and are complementary to
the
Whirlpool brand, and since the acquisition we have already launched our first
wave of new product offerings into the market.
Finally, yet very importantly, Hefei Sanyo has a proven strong and capable management
team that is eager to be a part of the Whirlpool team. These strong attributes, coupled
with Whirlpool’s global technology, global footprint and management experience creates
a very strong platform for profitable growth in China.
We are excited about our potential for growth in Asia and in 2015 we will begin to take
advantage of this opportunity. The addition of Hefei Sanyo, continued investments in
product innovation, expansion into new categories, continued increase in the distribution
of our products and brands while leveraging our global scale and product platforms,
gives us confidence in our ability to grow in Asia.
Michael A. Todman
Vice Chairman
Michael A. Todman
Vice Chairman