Not long ago, the Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Quality Supervision issued a smart toilet seat, water-saving toilet product quality inspection results. Spot checks found that Whirlpool production of intelligent body cleaners (specification model WLP-02) and other products grounding measures project failed, use There are potential risks of electric shock in the process.
As a U.S. home appliance giant, Whirlpool has once again re-entered the quality inspection 'black list' in China and can not help but think of Whirlpool's entry into the domestic 'white camp' in the first five camps after he entered Hefei Sanyo in 2014. Goals. But for now, Whirlpool seems to be getting farther and farther from this goal.
Problems with the company’s own management and strategy
Localization operation has always been an important problem for foreign-funded enterprises in China. It covers technology import, product concepts, brand marketing, and channel promotion.
Compared with single-brand enterprises, the development pattern of multi-brand and multi-category also puts higher requirements on the company's business management tools and capabilities. Whirlpool's brand differentiation is not clear, its positioning is ambiguous, product lines are cluttered, and marketing strategies Conservative and other issues, the localization trader has not been able to make great progress, so that it is gradually being marginalized.
From the perspective of products and brands, the entire white goods industry is currently undergoing a transformation in the direction of intelligence. Most Whirlpool products are still feature-type products and lack intelligent points of light. They are difficult to meet the increasing high-end needs of domestic consumers.
In fact, since entering the Chinese market in 1994, since early decades of price wars, the low-end brand image of white goods such as Whirlpool’s ice-washed products has been solidified, and the brand’s premium capacity has been insufficient. This has directly hampered its High-end camp advanced.
In addition, after entering Hefei Sanyo four years ago, Whirlpool has not found a precise position in the country. Its four sub-brands Whirlpool, Tedo, Sanyo and Rongshida include refrigerators, washing machines and other white goods, and kitchen appliances, electrical appliances Such as the series of product lines, but at present there is no particularly prominent brand and category. The four brands are not only difficult to form a joint force, but they are each fighting, and dispersed the overall resources and energy of Whirlpool.
From a marketing point of view, Whirlpool is also dissatisfied with the Chinese market, and its strategy is too conservative. Other foreign companies such as Samsung, Siemens, etc., often have some publicity vocals and marketing activities. Whirlpool, however, seldom sounds too low-key. Lack of temperature scenes, perceptions, services, and access to mass consumer visions. Over time, Whirlpool's Whirlpool is gradually forgotten by consumers.
The product concept can not keep up with the times, the high-end transformation and upgrading are frustrated, and it is difficult to narrow the distance between them and consumers. It is not without reason that Whirlpool is marginalized in China.
In addition, frequent changes in the top management of the company, even the unification of middle and low-level personnel, and the acquisition of compressor core businesses also reflect the great problems in Whirlpool’s own internal management, which will inevitably lead to its normal operations. To exert a significant influence on the future strategic layout, implementation is also a huge obstacle.
Negative events continue to emerge and brand image continues to suffer
In addition to the smart body cleaners and other products on the "black list", Whirlpool has actually been on the list frequently in recent quality inspections.
At the press conference on the '3·15' quality report for the 2018 TMT industry held this year, some companies that had identified unqualified projects were exposed. Whirlpool has a name on the list. It is also known that the refrigerators in the circulation area of the Guangdong Province Administration for Industry and Commerce in 2017 are also known. In product quality inspection, the Whirlpool frost-free refrigerated freezer model BCD-262WTGB was found to be unqualified.
In addition to quality problems, after-sales service has also caused Whirlpool to suffer from criticism from users. Many users have experienced various problems with Whirlpool's home appliance products after a period of time, but their after-sales service is not satisfactory.
In fact, compared with domestic home appliance brands, the overall after-sales service of foreign brands is a relatively common phenomenon. On the one hand, most foreign brands are relatively high-profile, but their localization capabilities are not 'matchable'; on the other hand, At present, foreign-affiliated brands have relatively few after-sales service outlets.
However, the negative events that occurred in Whirlpool were not limited to quality and after-sales issues. On May 3, 2018, Whirlpool (China) received a notice of investigation from the Securities and Futures Commission. The survey was conducted because of its disclosure of 2015 and 2016. The report was suspected of false records, with nearly 200 million net profits and more than 500 million net assets 'disappeared'.
Unfavorable products, poor after-sales services, financial frauds and other incidents are on the rise. Whirlpool is in dire straits. This will not only cause consumers to gradually lose their trust, but also loss of their own brand image and value.
By Haier, Midea, Gree’s three major white power giants continue to squeeze
In addition to the above internal factors, the fierce external market environment has also brought great pressure to Whirlpool. At present, Whirlpool does not achieve decent results in the domestic appliance market, and it is difficult to achieve a breakthrough in market share.
Comprehensive data collected by market research institutes such as China Yikang and Owe Cloud Network in recent years shows that Whirlpool has always been unsatisfactory in terms of market share in the field of high-capacity refrigerators and washing machines.
The performance in the domestic market was flat and directly eroded Whirlpool's performance. According to the 2017 annual report released by Whirlpool (China) and the quarterly report of 2018, the company’s revenue for the previous year was 6.364 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.05%; After profit or loss, the net profit was a loss of 488 million yuan. In the first quarter of this year, the business performance was still declining, with revenue of 1.695 billion yuan and net profit decreased by 33.94% year-on-year.
Looking at the entire domestic appliance market, Haier, Midea, and Gree’s three major brands dominate the market. From washing machines, refrigerators, and air conditioners to small appliances, the three brands basically dominate the market. Whirlpool is an 'outsider'. In contrast, local strong brands have a better understanding of the Chinese consumer's mentality, and they are more flexible and aggressive in operating the market.
Actually, Haier, Midea, Gree, the three major home appliances giants, have significantly accelerated the expansion of their overseas markets in recent years after they have smashed and seized market share. This has also caused the white-headed business of Whirlpool, the former giant, to bear the brunt of contraction.
According to the latest earnings report of Whirlpool Group, the company made a profit of 94 million US dollars in the first fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2018, a year-on-year decrease of 38.56%; operating income of 4.91 billion US dollars (approximately 31 billion yuan), an increase of 2.61% over the same period of last year. Optimistic. In contrast, Qingdao Haier, Midea Group and Gree Electric Appliances reported operating revenue of 42.6 billion yuan, 70.3 billion yuan and 40 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2018, respectively.
All in all, the current Chinese home appliance industry has grown strongly. Haier, Midea, Gree and other home appliance giants are no longer satisfied with the domestic market. They have accelerated their exploration of overseas markets, and their products have gradually upgraded to high-end intelligence. The first camp's threshold has also already exceeded 100 billion yuan in revenues. Whirlpool, the internal and external troublemakers, has been drifting away from this goal.