Of excellence, innovation

It was built for the job.

Managing to remain on top of its game despite the in-flux of other local and foreign brands is indeed a clear and definite indication of how far Whirlpool has gone in meeting and satisfying the changing needs of the market.

Today, this American brand that was first introduced in the country more than two decades ago, continues to be the preferred choice of many homemakers. And it’s easy to understand how it became so.

The durability and innovative features of all Whirlpool products have allowed the brand to become a household name, and penetrate even the most discerning market, eventually gaining a most loyal following across generations.

A stand out

Currently the largest home appliance manufacturer around the world, Whirlpool is marketed and sold in over 100 countries globally. It also owns other brands like Maytag, Kitchen Aid, Jennair and Amana among others. Recently, it also bought European brands Indesit and Ariston.

In the Philippines, Excellence Appliance Technologies Inc. (Exatech) is the exclusive distributor of Whirlpool, Fujidenzo, Glem and Maytag Commercial Laundry. With the company’s relentless drive and commitment to serve the local market’s needs, it has since grown and evolved from an appliance retailer, a single brand distributor, to a multi-brand appliance distributor.

In an e-mail interview, Exatech sales director Chris Sioco related that Whirlpool stands out notably because it is an American brand.

“As you know, Filipinos have an affinity for US products. When it was first introduced in the Philippines, it immediately gained the interest of buyers because the products were big and huge and it looked very sturdy and durable,” Sioco explained.

Among the first Whirlpool products to be introduced in the Philippine market in 1994 were the US washers, which gained quite a good reception given the products’ design and innovative features.

“That time, all the washers were smaller and there weren’t too many fully automatic washers available in the market. It was always sold out, given that what the market was getting was a one-of-a-kind product, because it could be used to wash bed sheets and bed covers. Eventually, that product became the one that they use for the laundry shops,” Sioco disclosed.

Initial challenges

Despite the warm reception for Whirlpool products, the brand had to contend with a few bumps before it was able to reach its current status. More specifically, Whirlpool initially found it hard to market and sell its products even though these had time- and labor-saving innovations.

“The initial challenge was the distribution and marketing, meaning how to make it more available to the consumers and how to (inform) them that Whirlpool is already available in the appliance stores. Our marketing budget was not that big and we have very limited distribution when we started. Also, our network was not yet established (at that time),” Sioco explained.

Thus, Exatech had to personally visit all the dealers to sell Whirlpool products to ensure that the company would have a dealer in key cities like Cebu, Davao, Baguio, and Pampanga, among other provinces.

Enduring success

Over the next several years, Whirlpool has managed to rise to become the preferred choice of most households in the country, on the back of its products’ durability and the innovations it continues to roll out, thus setting the brand vastly apart from the rest.

This foundation has further set the stage for the brand’s continued growth, amid the promise of new and exciting opportunities.

Proof of the brand’s enduring success were the eight major product categories that were made available to local consumers, including the no frost refrigerators, washers, dryers, freezers, microwave ovens, cooking ranges and split type aircon.

“We continue to look for innovative products and products that are being sought after by the market. We make sure that we have a unique selling proposition in all of our products,” Sioco explained.

“Like right now we have washers that have hot wash or heater, and we have better than inverter refs for our no frost refrigerators. It can save electricity like an inverter ref but with better cooling performance,” he further said.

Sioco also pointed out that surprisingly, their best selling products are still their washing machines.

“The US washers still have a great following because the grand mothers, mothers have passed this on to their daughters and you would be surprised most of the mothers now look for this model or a similar big sized model because this was what they were using when they were still kids,” Sioco noted.

“Whirlpool has really been known to be very durable. So the reputation of the brand is unquestioned. Now we also have top load Asian washers and front load washers that cater to whatever type of laundry situation our customers might have,” he said.

Fruitful partnership

And as Exatech and Whirlpool celebrate 25 fruitful years of partnership, they remain committed to provide the market with the best solutions across the different product categories.

For its part, Whirlpool— while used to be known as more expensive compared to other brands—has likewise committed to look for ways to bring in more competitive products that could fully meet the demands of the local market.