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WHIRLPOOL CORP /DE/ - 10-Q - MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS(Edgar Glimpses Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ABOUT WHIRLPOOL Whirlpool Corporation ("Whirlpool") is the world's leading global manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances with net sales of approximately $19 billion and net earnings available to Whirlpool of $827 million in 2013. We are a leading producer of major home appliances in North America and Latin America and have a significant presence throughout Europe and India. We have received worldwide recognition for accomplishments in a variety of business and social efforts, including leadership, diversity, innovative product design, business ethics, social responsibility, and community involvement. We conduct our business through four reportable segments, which we define based on geography. Our reportable segments consist of North America, Latin America, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), and Asia. Our customer base includes large, sophisticated trade customers who have many choices and demand competitive products, services, and prices. The major home appliance industry operates in an intensely competitive environment, reflecting the impact of both new and established global competitors, including Asian and European manufacturers. We monitor country-specific economic factors such as gross domestic product, unemployment, consumer confidence, retail trends, housing starts and completions, sales of existing homes, and mortgage interest rates as key indicators of industry demand. In addition to profitability, we also focus on country, brand, product and channel sales when assessing and forecasting financial results. Our leading portfolio of brands includes Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Brastemp, and Consul, each of which have annual revenues in excess of $1 billion. Our global branded consumer products strategy is to introduce innovative new products, increase brand customer loyalty, expand our presence in foreign markets, enhance our trade management platform, improve total cost and quality by expanding and leveraging our global operating platform and, where appropriate, make strategic acquisitions and investments. As we grow revenues in our core products, our strategy is to extend our business by offering products and services that are dependent on and related to our core business and expand into adjacent products, such as Affresh cleaners and Gladiator GarageWorks, through stand-alone businesses that leverage our core competencies and business infrastructure. |