Whirlpool’s North American Appliance Group
Whirlpool’s North American Appliance Group has been realigned in 1994 in order to market separate product groups better and to provide better customer support.
Sam Abdelnour will retain his trade marketing director of Whirlpool products title as well as market all dishwasher, laundry and compactor products. Mark Wilson will become marketing director of KitchenAid products. Doug McQuillan will become marketing director of Roper and Estate products.
Kitchenaid Products
If it’s yearend, it must be time for Whirlpool’s North American Appliance Group to realign some staff.
This year’s shifts are designed to improve coordination of brand presentations in the field. According to an official here, salespeople currently make separate pitches for each label.
In the future, someone will be in charge of a unified sales plan by product, part of a double-duty setup.
Sam Abdelnour remains director of Whirlpool-brand trade marketing and takes on responsibility for nearly all laundry, dishwasher and compactor products.
Mark Wilson, previously national manager of Roper and Estate marketing, becomes director with KitchenAid brand focus and takes responsibility for most refrigerator, freezer and air-control products.
Doug McQuillan, who was national manager of Roper and Estate contract-trade marketing, becomes director with Roper and Estate brand focus and control over nearly all cooking products.
Each executive is responsible for all brands in his product category, except Kenmore. Each one also represents trade marketing in the appropriate product business teams, or PBTs: Abdelnour in the laundry and dishwasher teams; Wilson in the refrigerator and air-control PBTs, and McQuillan in the cooking PBT.
In addition, Herb Rose is director of trade-marketing deployment. He continues as director of allied trade marketing.
All four report to Mike Piraino, the North American Group’s general manager of trade marketing.
According to a Whirlpool official, the restructuring two years ago which ended the brand-division setup in favor a function-oriented organization nevertheless left the field personnel with separate messages from brand specialists. (The ’93 restructuring affected channel directors and field personnel.) Key customers have continued to hear separate pitches for Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Roper and the specialty labels.
“We need someone at corporate to put together a plan to sell,” says the official. “Sales and distribution need coordination to orchestrate all promotions and point-of-sale materials.”
An internal memo explains the restructuring will “provide more effective interface with our trade and process partners. This realignment will also provide better support for the product business teams and brand management.
The alignment by product also allows trade marketing to collaborate with the logistics-fulfillment teams to dramatically improve availability and customer satisfaction.”
Mark Rantz, trade-marketing manager for all laundry products; Joe Mazza, who has the same responsibility for all dishwasher and compactor products, and Scott Patterson, Sears Brand Central manager for all cleaning products, report to Abdelnour.
Jim Bartley, trade-marketing manager for all refrigerator products; Dave Riddle, the same for all freezers and air-control products, and Alex Holton, Brand Central manager for refrigeration products, report to Wilson.
Greg Rogers, trade-marketing manager for all free-standing ranges, and Glenn Averill, for all built-in ovens and microwaves, report to McQuillan.
Ray Brahms, literature manager for all brands; Chuck Vranich, sales-promotion manager for point-of-purchase, national accounts and contract, and Monica Bolin, Preferred Partners Program administrator, report to Rose.
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