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Haier and Fisher Paykel Making Bigger Plans

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Haier, China’s largest major appliance maker, and Fisher & Paykel (F&P), the premium appliance manufacturer, are exploring opportunities to cross market their products in the United States.

The move would extend a strategic partnership formed last May when Haier purchased a 20 percent stake in the New Zealand vendor and added its chief financial officer and chief marketing officer to F&P’s board.

Under the agreement, the two companies are sharing product development, manufacturing and market resources to reduce production and procurement costs.

As part of the arrangement, Haier is presently producing select products under the Fisher & Paykel brand, and the partners are looking to expand the assortment.

The pact also gives Haier exclusive rights to market and distribute Fisher & Paykel products in China, while F&P will distribute Haier-manufactured and branded products in New Zealand.

Haier Australia will continue to handle the Haier brand on that continent for the immediate future.

According to a Fisher & Paykel spokesperson, the companies are also exploring opportunities to market and sell each other’s products in the U.S.

The partnership gives Haier access to Fisher & Paykel’s premium assortment, while extending F&P’s global reach. The deal will also help the New Zealand manufacturer contain production costs amid the global recession, which has taken a steep toll on appliance sales across the industry.

Fisher & Paykel is best known for its compact DishDrawer dishwasher and its recently acquired DCS line of professional cooking equipment. Its products are sold directly or via distributors to about 4,500 dealers in the United States, and are produced globally at plants in Auckland and Dunedin, New Zealand; Cleveland, Australia; Rayong Province, Thailand; Reynosa, Mexico; Treviso, Italy; and Clyde, Ohio.

From TWICE Magazine

Cash For Clunkers – Appliance Clunkers

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Here’s some good news if you’ve got an old household appliance you’ve been wanting to replace. The government’s $300 million dollar incentive plan will help you pay for it. The plan is meant to help the appliance industry by giving a boost to slow appliance sales nationwide, but the relatively small amount of cash will not make a big impact on major appliance appliance dealers such as Whirlpool, GE, and Electrolux. There are also some potentially confusing details to be worked out:

The Wall Street Journal says unlike the clunkers plan, the program allows each state to pick qualifying models and tailor rebate amounts. Ohio might decide one washing machine qualifies for a $100 rebate, while California picks another for $125.

Manufacturers and retailers said they are reluctant to ramp up production or order new stocks until it is clear what models qualify. The Department of Energy, which designed the program, wants states to focus on just 10 categories of appliances carrying the federal Energy Star seal of approval for efficiency.

But other details are still uncertain. States could ask to include up to 46 other types of products, ranging from light bulbs to computers. While rebates are expected to range between $50 and $200, qualifying models and precise rebate amounts won’t be provided until late this year or early next.

Some of the nation’s biggest appliance makers are lobbying to make the plan rules uniform nationwide. They said the unknowns and the varying rules by state will make the program harder to explain to shoppers, in turn making it tougher to win sales.

The program “will provide consumers a unique opportunity to save money on energy-efficient appliances,” said Dave McCalpin, chief marketing officer for GE Appliances. He said Fairfield, Conn.-based GE is working with state governments to adopt rebate programs that rely on Energy Star ratings.

Some states are considering standards that exceed Energy Star requirements, a move GE opposes. “We believe it is very important that rebate programs are consistent across the country,” Mr. McCalpin said.

The stricter proposals underscore criticisms that the Energy Star program is not tough enough in raising energy efficiency. The Environmental Protection Agency is looking at revising the program’s standards. If it does so after the states set their rules, the rebates could end up subsidizing some appliances that are not as energy efficient as they could be.

Samsung’s Latest Includes New Induction Range – Lower Laundry Pricing

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Samsung Electronics America will add induction technology to its cooking appliance line this fall.

Details are sketchy, but the company said the freestanding model will be produced entirely in-house.

“It’s gorgeous,” said James Politeski, sales and marketing VP for Samsung digital appliances. “The controls are intuitive, more accessible and very cool.”

Joining the induction unit will be Samsung’s first gas-fueled ranges. Two models are also set to ship this fall, along with a $600 speed oven that features microwave and electric heating.

In laundry, Samsung has added a step between its opening price point $999 front-load washer and its $1,499 front-load steam washer. The new, Energy Star-rated WF419 (suggested retail $1,199) also features steam cycles and Samsung’s vibration-reduction technology (VRT), plus 4.3 cubic feet of capacity and a diamond-patterned drum surface that’s gentler on fabrics.

Samsung also lowered its opening price point in front-load laundry to $699 in a Lowe’s-exclusive model that could join the open line next year depending on marketplace conditions. Senior marketing manager Jeffrey Armstrong said the company is hesitant to play in the promotional arena after establishing Samsung as a premium appliance brand — a strategy that has paid off with a 100 percent increase in first-quarter laundry sales.

In refrigeration, Samsung showed three French door models with dual ice makers, a feature it described as an industry first. The dual system includes an external filtered water and ice dispenser in the refrigerator and an additional ice maker in the freezer to provide twice the ice-making ability of standard units.

How Whirlpool Gets It’s Newest Products

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Ever wonder how that new Whirlpool, Kitchen Aid or Maytag appliance with all the newest technology came to the marketplace?  Well, Whirlpool, the parent company has formalized a process to sort through the thousands of ideas that, at any one time, are percolating up from product groups, new business development teams, and i-mentors — employees trained in innovation who have been deployed throughout the organization to identify promising ideas. From that first grab-bag of concepts, managers green-light several hundred for study, giving each a slice of an innovation budget that  ballparks at several million dollars for North America this year.

Ultimately, almost half of those flow into its innovation pipeline, which currently numbers close to 1,000 products. On average, 100 are introduced to the marketplace. “Every month we report pipeline size measured by estimated sales, and our goal this year is $4 billion,” says Norena. With Whirlpool’s 2008 revenue totalling $18.9 billion, that would mean roughly 20% of sales would be from new products.

Beginning Affresh

The process has helped Whirlpool find such innovations as Affresh, a hockey puck-shaped tablet that consumers can toss into front-loading washers for a cleaning cycle. In less than two years, Affresh, which works with any brand of appliance, has grown into a line of four products that Whirlpool expects to be an $80 million to 100 million business by 2015. Taking Affresh as a guide, here’s a look at how the Benton Harbor [Mich.] appliance maker evaluates new ideas.

Affresh came out of regular consumer research a few years ago: Water and chemical residues caught in the seal of the door of front-load washing machines, customers told Whirlpool researchers, were causing odor problems. [Not all of Whirlpool’s concepts emerge from customer research; Garage Gladiator — a line of storage containers and appliances for garages and workshops — was conceived in a sales and marketing brainstorm about how Whirlpool might develop products for rooms beyond the kitchen and laundry room.]

For an idea to be considered for development, it has to meet Whirlpool’s three-pronged definition of innovation: It must meet a consumer need in a fresh way; it must have the breadth to become a platform for related products; and it must lift earnings. [Add-on innovations are expected to deliver results within months, while new-to-the-world ones are given three to five years.]

Charles Martin, director of strategy and marketing for new business development, who led the Affresh development, already knew there was a consumer need. Four to six weeks of research and concept development convinced him he could clear the second hurdle too, by expanding into kitchen appliances too. And Whirlpool had good reason to expect profits. Sales of front-loaders are on the rise — 1.91 million will be sold this year, according to IBIS World — and the machines are expected to eclipse top-loaders in three to five years.

Clearing the Hurdles

Research findings are written up in a document Whirlpool calls an “opportunity brief.” The brief is reviewed by a 15-member panel of innovation experts and regional managers from across the organization, including marketing, sales, customer service, and engineering. This i-board meets monthly to review potential projects, and allocate funding. Martin’s team was granted several thousand dollars to continue development of the Affresh idea.

Roughly 40% of ideas that make it to this stage end up in the innovation pipeline. Those that don’t get tripped up by the next hurdle: the i-box, a three-page scorecard that forces innovation teams to be very concrete about expected factors such as revenues, technical feasibility, relevance to the brand, and market trends. “The i-box needs to make the case that there is a consumer need, that the concept meets it, that it does it better than existing products, and so on,” says Norena.

The i-panel then reviews the i-box, with each member scoring how well the concept meets each criterion on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the strongest. The averaged scores determine whether a concept will be funded [at which point it officially enters the pipeline] or shelved. “Everything checked off,” says Martin of the Affresh i-box.

Whirlpool currently has some 1,500 projects shelved for a variety of reasons. An idea to create an “on the move” appliance for campers, for instance, was held because it strayed too far outside of Whirlpool’s home-focused comfort zone.

Thumbs-Down on a Steam Dryer

Ideas can also be held simply because of overall resources and priorities. Every year, Whirlpool sets a goal for innovation-related revenue for each product team. “We might say we want 80% of new revenues to come from innovations to core products, 15% from innovations that leverage or expand the core, and 5% from totally new innovations,” says Norena.

A concept for a dryer with a steam function, proposed in 2004, ended on up the shelf because it didn’t match up with that year’s priorities. Three years later, when the fabric care team began working on a relaunch of Whirlpool’s Duet line, the innovation manager for the laundry team reviewed the shelved concepts for features to include in the new machines. Duet dryers came to market in 2008 with the steam function. [Concepts can also be resurrected by the i-board, which reviews all active innovation projects and shelved ideas during an annual pipeline cleanup.]

Once Affresh and other new concepts officially enter the innovation pipeline, they go through Whirlpool’s standard stage-gate process. Affresh’s development differed only in that it was developed in partnership with an outside partner, a chemical company that Whirlpool won’t identify, one of Whirlpool’s first open innovation projects.

The first Affresh product — a three-pack of tablets for cleaning front-load washers — showed up in appliance stores in September 2007 at a suggested retail price of $6.99. Whirlpool won’t reveal specific numbers, but says that first-year sales exceeded Martin’s estimates by 200% and were robust enough for the company to expand distribution to national grocery chains such as Kroger Markets. Building on that, Whirlpool developed a more efficient product for service technicians and, coming next month, an Affresh-branded dishwasher and disposal cleaner.

Laundry is Moving Up

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The next generation of laundry has arrived and the status quo is getting a much-needed makeover. New washer and dryer technologies and innovations in detergents and clothing care save time and energy, making laundry feel like less of a chore.

Everything in its place

Laundry rooms used to be relegated to the basement, but more people are finding space for washers and dryers in convenient areas of the house like upstairs near bedrooms. Experts say installing a “laundry nook” is not only a good investment and can raise the value of your home, but it can make hauling baskets of clothing up and down flights of stairs a thing of the past.

The closer the washer and dryer are to living spaces the more important it is for them to be quiet. “Look for machines with new technologies that reduce vibration for nearly noiseless laundry sessions,” says home design expert Doug Wilson. “If your washer and dryer are out in the open, look for colorful and sleek models that can stand out stylishly on their own. New models are available in a variety of designer finishes such as wild cherry red, Riviera blue and even colors that give the look of stainless steel without the stainless steel price tag.”

Near the laundry area or on the go, make sure to keep the latest stain removal products handy. Treating a stain as soon as it happens can help to ensure your clothing won’t be ruined and prevent the need for multiple washings to remove the stain. Oxygen-based stain removers are gentle, nontoxic and effective on nearly every stain and most types of fabrics. And portable stain-erasing pens and wipes are handy for treating stains no matter where you are.

Get the most out of your wash and save energy

Until now, washers only used one washing motion — tumbling — to clean clothes. Select washers from LG now feature technology that provides a new way to care for your clothes with four new washing motions — rolling, stepping, swinging and scrubbing.Cold care, heavy duty and enhanced hand-wash cycles use a combination of these motions to gently and effectively clean clothes. For example, the cold care cycle uses cold water in combination with these motions to clean clothes as effectively as the normal cycle that uses hot water, but with an energy savings of more than 60 percent.

Look for the ENERGY STAR label on washing machines, and you can cut your water costs by up to 50 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. There are also machines that automatically adjust the water temperature and the amount of water used for each load to prevent excess and waste. Detergent designed for use in cold water helps to save energy by effectively cleaning clothes without hot water.

Another trend in laundry is the use of steam for greater energy and water efficiency. Steam washers and dryers also offer enhanced clothing care options such as short, steam-only cycles that help to reduce wrinkles and remove odors from clothing with using water and detergent (and can help cut down on trips to the dry cleaner in the process, helping to save money in addition to energy).

Stay healthy

With 70 percent of U.S. households affected by asthma or allergies, LG’s SteamWasher with Allergiene cycle gently and effectively reduces allergens, including common triggers — like dust mites and pet dander — on fabrics by more than 95 percent, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

“Now there’s a washing machine that is so effective at reducing common household allergens, the LG SteamWasher, that we are able to certify it ‘asthma and allergy friendly,’” says Mike Tringale, director of external affairs for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Paint Your Appliance Pink Contest

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PartSelect.com is pleased to announce the launch of its Paint Your Appliance Pink contest which runs from July 1, 2009 – September 1, 2009. Contestants can enter to win 1 of 3 Pink Prize Packages valued at $369.97 and help PartSelect donate up to $10,000 to Breast Cancer Research.

Breast Cancer is the second most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of death in women. It is so common that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime.

For each valid contest entry received, PartSelect will donate $25.00 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, up to a maximum of $10,000.

The contest is easy to enter. Simply paint a pink ribbon on any major home appliance and send a photo of it to PartSelect. The ribbon can be located anywhere on the appliance and only needs to be big enough to be visible in the photo. A valid entry consists of one pink ribbon painted on one major appliance. Contestants can enter once per appliance.

Each contestant will be entered into 3 monthly draws to win 1 of 3 Pink Prize Packages valued at $369.97. The Pink Prize Packages consist of a Pink KitchenAid Stand Mixer, Pink Stand Mixer Cover, Pink Silicone Spatula, Pink Silicone Heart Pan, Pink Measuring Cups and Spoons Set, and a Cook For The Cure Apron. Draws will take place on August 3, 2009, September 3, 2009, and October 3, 2009.

The official contest webpage and rules can be found at Paint Your Appliance Pink.

Buying a Used Appliance

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Washing machines and other hardworking appliances seem to know the worst times to breakdown. With the economy causing most of us to be careful with our spending, replacing a major appliance is not high on anyone’s to-do list. Sometimes your just need a few more months out of the machine before a big move or remodel, but then it happens, the squealing, leaking and motor problems – time for a new unit.

A second-hand washer, dryer or refrigerator can be just what you need. We’ve got some suggestions on where and how you can get what you need.

    Buy used appliances at furniture stores. Most of these stores have a section for used appliances and furniture that people have traded in. Check to see if there is a warranty left or if it is “as is.” Some stores offer their own short return period of thirty to sixty days.

    Check the want ads in your local newspaper for used appliances. If you see an ad for something you want, make an appointment to go inspect the appliance. These will be “as is” so make sure the appliance is fully functional before you buy.

    Go online to online stores that sell used appliances. Make sure to inquire about the return policy and ask if there is a warranty on the appliance.

    Visit flea markets in your area to find used appliances to buy. Most of the time these will be “as is” so make sure you plug it in and find out if it works before you buy.

    Find out about neighborhood garage sales to buy used appliances. These are usually advertised by people putting notices around the neighborhood, stating when and where the sale will be held.

    Search craigslist.org for used appliances in your area. Again,be certainthe appliance is in working order as there will be no warranty.

    Check the Consumer Product Safety Commission (www.CPSC.gov) for any recalls on the appliance you find.

Buying a used appliance can be a smart choice, as with any large purchase, do your research and shop carefully.

Read This Before You Buy Your Next Appliance

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Purchasing a major appliance is a major decision. To ensure satisfactory return on your investment, comparison shop before each appliance purchase.

The following pointers from The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers can help ensure your satisfaction with appliance purchases:

• Ask your dealer for specification sheets from several manufacturers who build the types of appliances you plan to purchase. Compare available features, designs and capacities;

• Read the warranty before finalizing your decision. Does the warranty cover the entire product? Only certain parts? Is labor included? How long does the warranty last?

• Ask you dealer for the appliance’s use and care manual and read it carefully before you buy the appliance. The dealer should have available manuals from the floor models. Reading the manuals will help you ask pertinent questions, tell you how the product operates and inform you of any special care the product needs;

• Decide which features you will really use. Consider the possibility of adding features at a later date, such as installing an icemaker in a refrigerator;

• Decide what capacity or size your family requires. For example, when purchasing a room air conditioner, know the dimensions of the room you want to cool and the number of windows, so you can select a model with sufficient cooling capacity;

• Check the space available for the appliance to make sure you select the right size unit and make sure halls and doorways allow clearance for entry and installation;

• Establish the cost of delivery and installation — are they included in the appliance’s price?

• Make sure authorized factory service is readily available in your area for the brand you select;

• Check the product’s design carefully to make sure it meets your needs and accommodates your habits and favorite cookware. Compare the designs of different models and brands;

• Compare price in relation to convenience and service, which will vary by model. Price tends to increase as features are added;

• Avoid overloaded circuits by making sure your house has adequate electrical service for the appliance. Check for adequately grounded, three-hole receptacles.

By doing your homework and being prepared, you can be an appliance buying superhero, avoiding the purchasing pitfalls that trip up ordinary shoppers.

Repair or Replace? Be Careful What You Choose

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In the not so recent past, if a household appliance was in need of repair, technicians invoked the 50% rule – if a repair cost 50%or more than the cost of a new unit, buy the new one. But these days as the recession deepens, more homeowners and rethinking that advice.

Getting anything repaired, however, can be frustrating. To stay profitable, service companies book multiple appointments on the same day, forcing consumers to sit home and wait for hours. And because it would be impossible for technicians to drive around with every possible replacement part, some repairs require a followup visit that can be subject to the same inconveniences.

Typically manufacturers outsource warranty service to another company, which subcontracts the actual work to a third party. So after contacting the manufacturer, consumers frequently find themselves calling yet another number, and then later, after the service call has been arranged, communicating with a third party — who inevitably seems to have a different idea about when the work will be done and what the warranty covers.

Appliance-repair rage has also driven at least one person, a 42-year-old woman in northern England who says she endured six months of rescheduled appointments and other delays, to hold a repairman hostage until he fixed her washing machine. “I am not proud of what I did,” Tracey Fox told The Daily Telegraph in January, “but it was the only way I was going to get something done.”

After the nightmare comes the bill. Manufacturers intentionally charge a lot for replacement parts as a way of encouraging consumers to buy more products, said Ronald Sawyer, an appliance servicer in Cohoes, N.Y., and a founding member and executive director of the Professional Service Association, an appliance repair industry group. “When manufacturers came up with a machine that retails for $400, that price covers all parts,” he said. “But when it breaks down and you needed a new timer, the timer alone could cost $250. Manufacturers create the technology when they design new machines, they control the manufacturing process, they make the replacement parts, so we’re at the mercy of the manufacturers.”

The complexity of warranties makes matters worse. Years ago, most manufacturers gave warranties of at least two years. Now, however, warranties on most midrange appliances are just one year, say retailers and service providers. Boutique companies like Sub-Zero and Miele typically provide coverage for longer periods.

The best way to avoid the hassle of repair, according to numerous repairmen and Consumer Reports, is to buy the simplest possible appliance. “The more doo-dads, the more stuff you add to an appliance, the more likely it’s going to need a repair,” said Mark Kotkin of Consumer Reports National Research Center. Consumers would also be wise to recognize that the more sophisticated the equipment they purchase, the more complicated — and expensive — the repairs can be.

Still, few products will last as long as those made during the 1960s and 1970s. “The old Maytag washer your grandmother had, she bought that thing and used it for 35, 40 years,” Sawyer said. “It held up like nothing was ever going to go wrong with it. Today, you just don’t get that quality.”

You can read the whole story HERE

Win an LG HE Washer and Dryer Pair

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The LG True Steam washer dryer pair is the prize available to contestants who enter to win through the LG or Benjamin Moore Paints websites.

From what we can find, the washer includes these Key Features:

* TrueSteam™ Technology
* Ultra Capacity (4.5 cu.ft.)
* TrueBalance™ Anti-Vibration System
* Wash/Rinse Optimizer™
* Trilingual LCD Display
* 1300 RPM Spin Speed
* 9 Washing Programs

Hey, it’s a chance for a free washer and dryer – Go ahead, give it a try.