Marketing strategies, analysis and recommendation of WHIRLPOOL washing Dissertation

Marketing strategies, analysis and recommendation of WHIRLPOOL washing machine - Dissertation Example Hence, it is quite expected that Whirlpool has used effective marketing strategies over the years in order to sustain its dominance in the industry. This paper tries to investigate the current situation of Whirlpool as well as several of its strategies. It includes valuable information regarding Whirlpool’s current market share, sales volume and profitability. The paper mainly focuses on the washing machine industry which is an important part of the home appliance industry. Strategic tools like SWOT are in use to analyze the current situation of Whirlpool as a washing machine producer. Once the analysis is done recommendations are made for the company. Recommendations are mainly in the form of segmentation, targeting and position as well as in the form of marketing goals and objectives that should be achieved by the company in order to stay ahead of its competitors. Whirlpool Corporation Whirlpool Corporation is one of the leading names in the world of home appliances. The com pany is involved in the manufacturing and marketing of different products starting from washing machine to microwave, from air conditioners to refrigerators. Major brands that are marketed by the company include Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Amana, Jenn-Air, Consul, Bauknecht and Brastemp (Whirlpool Corporation-a, n.d.). The USA based company was founded in 1911 by Lou Upton. At present the company has significant presence in almost all the countries in the world. It runs almost 67 manufacturing and research & development centers throughout the world. Furthermore, the company employs close to 70,000 people. The vision statement (Every Home†¦ Everywhere†¦ with Pride, Passion and Performance) of Whirlpool reflects that the company considers each and every home as its domain and every customer and his/her activity as an opportunity (Whirlpool Corporation-a, n.d.). The mission statement of the company is â€Å"Everyone, Passionately Creating Loyal Customers for Life† ( Whirlpool Corporation-a, n.d.). It defines the point of area where the company is focusing now. It is very difficult for any organization to retain its leading position for a period of almost 100 years and without strong values it is next to impossible. Whirlpool’s success is greatly dependent on its values. Five major values that Whirlpool believes in are respect, teamwork, integrity, diversity and spirit of winning. Financial Condition With net sales of almost $18 billion, Whirlpool is one of the financially sound organizations throughout the world. However, the recent global financial crisis has affected the company’s overall performance as the demand of various home appliance products was decreased dramatically. In 2007 Whirlpool’s net sales were reported to be almost $19.4 billion, but in the next year the figure was lowered to $18.9 billion and in 2009 the company’s net sales were $17.1 billion. However, with the recovery of all the major economies in the world, Whirlpool has pulled and placed itself again in the positive growth track. According to the company’s last annual report it has a long term debt of $2,195 million (Whirlpool Corpor