NEWS | Round-up


recall campaigns to help make the industry better and safer


hen Whirlpool embarked on a UK consumer campaign to


recall 5.3 million tumble dryers that posed a potential fire risk back in 2015, little did it know that a few years later it would use its experience to implement another recall – this time for washing machines. Whirlpool UK public affairs director Ian Moverley, who has been leading the campaigns, fills us in on how they are progressing and shares some valuable advice on dealing with situations like these.


Q & A


Q: Being the most recent, can you bring us up to speed on where you’re at with the washing machine recall programme? A: Since announcing the washing machine recall programme in December 2019 we have used all available resources to contact owners affected by the recall and remove affected machines. To date, we have received 4.3 million customer enquiries, with over one million of those directly handled through our customer call centre. The campaign continues


to make significant


progress, with over 45% (270,000) of products subject to the safety campaign already located. So far over 94% of registered machines (253,000) have been fully resolved.


Q: Where do you even start with a recall campaign on this scale? A: The fundamental objective


of of any


product recall is to locate and remove as many


those


products market


as


from the possible


and, to do that you have to create awareness. Aside


from reaching out to our 6


campaign trail W


On the


Whirlpool UK public affairs director, Ian Moverley, explains what other brands can learn from its experience of product


customer database and spending millions of pounds on advertising, we worked with over 3,000 charities, consumer groups and housing groups; we’ve communicated with MPs across the country – urging them to


share details of the


campaigns with their constituents and we’ve sent literature to Church groups, doctors surgeries etc, including multiple languages all to make sure that we reached as many consumers as possible. Social media was also a really vital tool.


Q: What have you learnt from this undertaking as a brand? A: Understandably there was a massive focus on the tumble dryer campaign from the media, consumers and the industry, and it actually taught us a huge amount. We recognised what we did well and learnt from our mistakes and it shaped how we managed the washing machine recall which – as outlined – has been extremely successful over a shorter period of time. We realised we had to be adaptable, available [to the press] – we had to be completely sure that we had left no stone unturned in terms of contacting customers who potentially had one of these machines. We did some research with You


Gov recently, to find out how many people had heard about the washing machine campaign and 44% of UK adults had. That shows that the strategy to be out there and upfront about such an issue, whilst painful, is the right one.


Q: Has the situation damaged the reputation of the Whirlpool, Hotpoint


and


Having learnt so much from these campaigns, it’s our responsibility to make sure others also learn from our experiences to make the industry better and safer


Indesit brands? A: We actually carried out a survey of those UK


consumers


affected by the recall and 86% of respondents said they were happy with the service


Q: What about effects on sales and the business overall? A: There was definitely an impact on tumble dryers at the start, but that was more through our own decision- making really. We deliberately eased away from sales, to make sure we had enough stock to meet demand for replacements from the recall. We’re very pleased with how


The Hotpoint WMXTF 742K washing machine was recalled


they’d received. That echoes the fact that, although a recall is never a good thing in terms of a brand’s reputation, how you deal with it is how you can come out of it OK. We are proud that our reputation today is higher than it was before the tumble dryer campaign began in 2015. It’s taken time though – there’s no hiding from that. Our reputation was significantly impacted, particularly at the start, but today, both reputation and purchase consideration are higher. I feel we’ve actually come out of this stronger – not only as brands but as a team. The legacy of the Hotpoint brand in the UK definitely helped – it’s 110 years old this year so it’s well-known and trusted among consumers.


Q: How much does a campaign like this even cost? A: I suppose we’ll never know the true cost, but we’ve spent more money advertising the recalls than we have on any brand campaign that we’ve done in the last five years. Sometimes I get asked if we would all again and my answer is


do this


obviously yes – it was the right thing to do. Whirlpool didn’t make or design the products, but we bought the company, so we own the brands, so it was our responsibility to put it right.


we’re performing, not only in the last quarter, but as we go through the first quarter of 2021 – from a UK, Global and EMEA perspective.


Q: What advice or considerations would you give to other brands that may experience a product recall on this scale in the future? A: Being brutally honest, shouting about the fact that you’re undertaking a product recall is never going to be a good thing but one of our key learnings from this is that being upfront, transparent and honest is the only way it will work. Historically electrical product


recalls usually find between 10 and 20% of the products. In comparison, our tumble dryer campaign located 51% of the products and so far, we’ve found 45% of the washing machines. This isn’t about shouting about how great we are, this is to try and help other brands that may have to go through it in the future by teaching them how we achieved it. We’ve been working with groups like Electrical Safety First and the European Commission to inform industries about how to conduct an effective recall. Having undertaken these campaigns and learnt so much, it’s our responsibility to make sure that others can also learn from our experiences to make the industry better and safer.


Q: How has Whirlpool Corporation dealt with the added pressures of Covid? A: We’ve just had to be as flexible as possible. We have multiple factories across various locations, so we were able to move production of certain products to a different location as and when we needed to.


· February 2021


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