Fisher & Paykel has appointed Ben Normoyle as general manager, retail sales, to lead an integrated team of Haier and Fisher & Paykel salespeople.
The sales force for both brands was ‘integrated’ after Fisher & Paykel Australia decided to restructure its sales force for Haier product, bringing it in-house.
Speaking about the restructuring decision, Fisher & Paykel Chief Operating Officer Mark Pacey said, “We believe this will provide our customers a more integrated experience, and greater visibility of the breadth of our product portfolio.”
“Fisher & Paykel Australia has set some optimistic goals for both the Fisher & Paykel and Haier brands for the coming years. We believe that having an integrated frontline sales team is the most efficient and effective way of working with our customers and to support the achievement of these goals.”
Leading this team is Normoyle, who has more than 15 years’ experience in retail electrical appliances on behalf of both retailers and manufacturers.
“We are delighted to have someone of Ben’s calibre and experience heading up the team at this important time,” Pacey said.
Most recently, Normoyle was national business development manager for Harvey Norman’s national operation. He has also held positions with Electrolux including NSW and ACT sales and operations manager and national key account executive.
“Ben’s strategic and commercial knowledge of the Australian retail market, and especially the appliance segment, will add further strength to the Fisher & Paykel business,” Pacey said.
Across the ditch, at Fisher & Paykel’s Auckland headquarters, the business has its eyes firmly on expansion and entrenching New Zealand as the Fisher & Paykel’s research and development hub, opening a new Design Centre for Product Development.
Described as a ‘hothouse’ for innovation in product development, the state-of-the-art Centre is dedicated entirely to fostering the company’s research and development capabilities. It will cater to a fast-growing team of NZ-based product developers, designers and engineers and includes a full suite of quality and standards testing labs.
Earlier this year, Mark Elmore, head of industrial design at Fisher & Paykel, spoke of the important role design has played in determining the company’s fortunes.
“This new Centre underlines Fisher & Paykel’s long-term commitment to research and development in New Zealand, and solidifies our position as one of five Centres of Excellence for global product innovation for the Haier Group,” said Chairman Dr Keith Turner on opening the facility.
Development of a second design facility in Dunedin is also underway and expected to be fully up and running in November. Turner said that in the 18 months since announcing new expansion plans the company has recruited more than 80 new roles in Auckland and Dunedin and currently has more than 40 vacancies to fill.
Turner said Fisher & Paykel’s expansion plans have been made possible by parent company Haier’s support. “The relationship continues to go from strength to strength, benefiting the Fisher & Paykel brand in both New Zealand and globally.”
Turner said the company continued to focus on developing the Fisher & Paykel brand in New Zealand, Australia and North America, while boosting its presence in the emerging markets of China and India.