It was true. As we anticipated years ago, Whirlpool is moving out of Europe and indeed also from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Meanwhile, since 2014, the year of arrival in Europe with the acquisition of Indesit, the thinning began to concentrate production in Poland (where labor costs were very low) and earn as much as possible, squeezing the European markets to then, more late, go away.
The classic path of many American and British multinationals. The rumors of a farewell to EMEA have since continued to circulate and the confirmation came from Milan on the occasion of Salone del Mobile in Milan and Eurocucina, which the American multinational has renounced for the first time, preferring a decidedly subdued event at the Fuorisalone, with the presentation of an American research.
Whirlpool leaves Europe EMEA: "strategic review" but not only
An absence from Eurocucina (the world's number one trade fair for the sector) which falls, together with other operations, into the “strategic review” of its presence in Europe, Middle East and Africa – as an April 25 release from the group explained – intended to deal with the difficulties arising from the war in Ukraine and sales decidedly below forecasts. But also determined in recent years by a series of flops and errors on the markets not only EMEA and despite being able to count on acquisition of Indesit which has brought as a dowry leading brands, substantial shares of the European market, factories and a lot of innovation. Contents that in the increasingly accentuated path of the financialization of the company gradually lost interest for the shareholders. Finally, there are, and very serious, the difficulties of a decline in globalization which is changing the global economic framework.
Who buys Whirlpool: Midea, Galanz, Hisense or Arḉelik?
To buy, the suitors – because in the meantime others had joined Midea, which we indicated as the first suitor – asked for a reduction in employees and production sites, which Whirlpool soon began to practice in Italy with the closure of the Naples site, long subject of negotiations, robust funding, downsizing and definitive disappearance, and other Italian sites.
Not only that: two brands that symbolize the high-end – the most profitable – the French Scholtès and the Italian Ariston they have been one sold and now disappeared and the other abandoned. A wrong policy for two reasons: first of all, these national brands corresponded to important shares of sales that were lost. And then because in recent years it has been the winner on the European market the German multinational BSH which has chosen the opposite path, enhancing all its brands. And even the other large groups, by eliminating established national brands, are increasingly struggling to maintain sales quotas.
The requested easing does not only concern Europe, also because they have joined us to step forward the Turkish Arçelik (owner of Grundig and Beko, part of the Koç group, a global giant), the Chinese Hisense – which by the way shares factories and business in China with Whirlpool – and is one of its OEM suppliers, e Galanz, besides of course a Midea vhe seems to remain in pole position.
Whirlpool leaves: closures across Europe
Meanwhile, already in 2018 Whirlpool gets rid of the big one Amiens factory in France (800 employees) to transfer production to Poland and the successor company, to which Whirlpool assigns a good 7,5 million for the continuation of activities, closes after only one year. In 2021 as we had anticipated on FIRSTonline, is sold for 83 million euros to the Turkish Arçelik the Manisa plant, a city in Turkey where the American multinational's fridges and washing machines are produced and which the US multinational had received as a dowry when it bought Indesit in 2014. In China, the mega refrigerator factory in Shanghai was recently acquired (for a value at the end of the transaction of almost 20 million dollars) by Galanz, which intends to get out of industrial monospecialization (microwaves) to grow in the Whites sector.
Disappointing sales results, very tough competition, logistical difficulties and an overly long supply chain had long since convinced the top management of the US multinational to get rid of this manufacturing too, preceded by sensational "resignation" of the president of Whirlpool Asia and vice president of Whirlpool China, Shengpo (Sam) Wu.
Turkish Arçelik also wants Whirlpool Emea
For years now the Turkish Arçelik with its brands Beko and Grundig, has been steadily in the top sales positions in Europe and has long since invested considerable financial resources in eco-sustainability which has become – as confirmed by its presence at Eurocucina and Fuorisalone – the leading topic of communication. At Eurocucina, many managers of European companies believed that the end of the long-standing choice or expectation of the buyer of Whirlpool EMEA was very close, attributing to the Turkish company excellent chances of making it. And the rest of it long winning march of the Turkish group towards Europe, will soon be made official. The CEO of Arçelic, Hakan Bulgurlu, will soon be appointed to the top of APPLIA Europe (Home Appliance Europe), the association of household appliances manufacturers, in place of the current president, the German Peter Goetz of the BSH group.
Appliances: how much is EMEA worth?
Whoever takes it automatically becomes one of the global protagonists of the household appliance because only here are companies with positions of technological, industrial, commercial and social supremacy superior to those of other areas. And with a primacy, in front of everyone, that of a unbeatable level of eco-sustainability since the large household appliances produced and sold in Europe have the lowest energy, water and detergent consumption in the world. With the very heavy aggravation of environmental and social emergencies, European manufacturers consequently have a good competitive advantage. Also, the impressive and now chronic global logistics crisis - even destined to get worse - make it more and more expensive to maintain long chains of delocalisation. It is no longer convenient to make majap in China to sell them in Europe (assuming it was convenient to do so before), but it is even crazier to continue producing a whisk in China whose price in shops is enormously lower than the cost of transport alone.
How much is Whirlpool EMEA currently worth?
This market spawned in 2021 sales worth $5 billion with 17.400 employees, and represents, for the US giant, the second largest market after North America. It is not only about numbers but also about "value": fewer and fewer consumers in the world accept to pay for a product made in China as much as for one manufactured in Europe. The change in consumer choices after Covid - documented by numerous GFK releases - demonstrates this decisive shift towards quality.
Finally, there is another very heavy nightmare that is blocking the advance on the markets of digital, connected, talking, smart, intelligent devices, many of which are made in Asia. There is a lack and no forthcoming solution can be seen – as we had already anticipated – i “engines” of the so-called digital revolution: chips, the components, from the humblest to the most advanced, microelectronics. Thus, these wonderful robot-appliances that promise wonders do not arrive in stores. Those in Asia who manage to manufacture them by finding the electronic components keep them. Because globalization has already started towards an inevitable downsizing.
