A 10 page paper based on materials provided by the student. The paper outlines the issues faced by Whirlpool in the mid- to late-1990s as the company attempted to expand into Asia (China and India), Latin America (Brazil) and Europe. The writer discusses the global home appliance industry and the assumptions Whirlpool executives made. A PEST analysis is performed with conclusions about the mistakes made and lessons learned. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: MM12_PGwrlpl.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
global expansion plan in 1989 with the goal of becoming a leader in the international home appliance industry. By the mid-1990s, the following issues surfaced: * In 1995, profits in
Europe plummeted by 50 percent, followed in 1996 by a loss of $13 million in Europe. * In 1996, Whirlpool reported a loss of $70 million in Asia. * In
1997, the company reported another loss of $62 million in Asia. * In 1997 and 1998, the company faced spiraling interest rates in Brazil. * In 1998, sales in Brazil
dropped by 25 percent and the company reported 1999 would be the third consecutive year of lower sales in Brazil. The company responded: * A worldwide reduction of 10 percent
of the corporations workforce was announced to span two years. Also, the company was pulling out of two joint ventures in China. * The workforce in Latin America was
to be reduced by 3,500 jobs. * The company announced it would upgrade plants and product lines in Latin America. The overriding issue is how to become profitable in
the world marketplace. Global Appliance Industry The home appliance industry has four major categories: laundry, refrigeration, cooking, and other appliances. The global home appliance industry is large and
fiercely competitive. It is also segmented according to price and design in different geographic regions. For example, Japanese homes are small, thus, customers need small compact portable machines. By
the 1990s, the North American home appliance market was saturated with very little growth projected. Given the minimal growth, appliance companies were consolidating leaving four major competitors: Whirlpool, General Electric,
Electrolux, and Maytag, who held an aggregate 80 percent market share. Segmentation was primarily related to price, and distribution was primarily through new home builders, retailers and specialty resellers. Due