Round-up | NEWS
Whirlpool confi rms its recall plan for fi re-risk tumble-dryers to OPSS
WHIRLPOOL HAS offi cially confi rmed to the Offi ce of Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) that it would be implementing its plans for a recall of as many as 800,000 faulty tumble-dryers starting from July 11. This follows a Government call for it to implement a full-blown recall and makes good on the pledges given by Jeff Noel (pictured), corporate vice- president for communications and public affairs at Whirlpool Corporation, when he appeared before the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee July 1. It was at that hearing that Noel also revealed that
there could be as many as 800,000 faulty Creda, Hotpoint, Indesit, Proline and Swan tumble-dryers still awaiting modifi cation or replacement – that is the upper end of the estimate that places the number of unmodifi ed dryers left in the market between 250,000 and 500,000. So far Whirlpool has undertaken modifi cations on 1.7 million dryers and its recall plan aims to ramp up the process in a bid to reach more consumers, offering “new remedies to choose from and new creative routes to communicate with them”. At the Commons committee hearing, Noel had already revealed how: “The single most important
thing that can be done is to make the message simple, straightforward and make the opportunity as easy as possible for the consumer. We will do direct and indirect advertorials, social media, we’ve ramped up call-taker staff, we’ve ramped up service engineers, we’ve ramped up our supply chain so we can enhance production of replacement machines. And we will work with retailers to make sure all the information is provided to them.” In its latest letter to the OPSS, Whirlpool also
confi rmed that it would be taking new steps to reach vulnerable consumers and non-native English speakers.
The letter said that the recall plan would be implemented as of July 11 and that it would start by communicating the new offers available to consumers (see below) to those that had contacted them over the preceding two weeks. Whirlpool said it was targeting Monday, July 22, for the full nationwide publicity campaign to announce the recall.
It also outlined what was on offer for consumers, which included:
that can be exchanged to purchase another installation of a new tumble-dryer or removal of an visits so that they can choose an option that best Whirlpool by phone or online, including social
At the Commons committee hearing, Noel also
revealed: “We have expanded our call centre staff and will have the call-takers there on fl exible hours. We will also be spending at least an additional £1 million in advertising to reach those consumers because we want to work together to get the message out.”
Whirlpool is advising customers with unmodifi ed tumble-dryers to call 0800 151 0905 or to visit
safety.hotpoint.eu,
safety.indesit.eu or safety-
swan.eu where they can fi nd out if their dryer is one of the affected models.
GDHA boss: ‘Market is challenging, but we’re moving in the right direction’
GDHA BOSS Mark Davison (pictured) says the appliance market is tough, but the company is investing in product development for a post-Brexit recovery and trying to raise its profi le in the kitchen specialist sector. Speaking to kbbreview, the managing director of Glen Dimplex Home Appliances said: “The market is still challenging because of the Brexit situation – there’s low consumer confi dence and people don’t know what’s happening with the economy. That has started to impact the housing market – people are delaying big-ticket purchases.” He added: “If you look at our markets, they’re a little bit soft, which is strange because we have relatively low levels of unemployment and wages are increasing ahead of infl ation – people should be spending money, but they aren’t. We look at the Amdea fi gures for the past 12 months and we’re seeing an MDA market that’s down 1.2% in volume – cooking is down 2.8%.
“All you can do is be as competitive as possible, but
we’re not completely battening down the hatches, because if you stop all new product development, when the recovery comes – which I’m sure it will – you’ll be left behind.” Davison said GDHA is currently working on a number of
projects that are either about to launch, or are in the pipeline for the next 12 to 24 months. In an interview with kbbreview in August 2018, he outlined his ambition for the company to be number one in range
cookers within 18 months to two years, taking the top spot from Rangemaster. A year on, Davison said that the business is on target to achieve that: “We
are moving in the right direction – we still would like to be number one in range cooking and that’s where most of our focus is, but the reality is that even the range [cooker] market is challenging – it’s down 3% in volume. Range cooking tends to be in the more affl uent sector of the housing market, which is now being affected. Despite that, we’re beginning to grow our share.”
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August 2019 · kbbreview
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