Electrolux Group CEO Yannick Fierling has made a whistlestop visit to Australia – his first as the head of the company.
In an exclusive sit-down interview with Appliance Retailer, Fierling shared insights into his time with the business as well as the challenges and opportunities facing the business.
Fierling joined the business on 1 October from Haier Europe and spent three months transitioning with former CEO Jonas Samuelson before formally commencing on 1 January.
“I am pleased to be here in Australia – our fourth largest market for Electrolux by value and volume. I have visited our three strongest markets – US, LATAM, and Brazil in particular being our largest market there, followed by Germany and now Australia. We have very strong market share here in Australia and we are very proud to be a manufacturer here as well which is a great thing.
“I love our brands – we have some brands that are more than 100 years old with a lot of value and we are constantly launching innovations that are customer-relevant and that’s why our customers love our products,” he said.
Fierling addressed the downsizing and divestment decisions that were made to the company prior to his arrival.
“The company has been taking very courageous decisions in very difficult moments. We have been downsizing our organisation by more than 20 per cent between 2022 and 2024. We have been moving away from brands like Zanussi and from entry price points where cost is the main driver. I think cost reduction is a very important pillar and will remain a very important pillar – but we are now moving into taking additional cost out of the product through reviewing our ways of working.
“I am also focusing on the transformation side of the equation. I am dreaming about a company that is able to leverage all of the strengths it has in terms of customer knowledge and innovation as well as brand legacy with more speed and agility.
“The market and the environment is changing so fast around us – and I really believe that you need to move and you need to change and you need to constantly transform. I have met with a lot of people that are willing to change and willing to transform and change is very much welcome.
“I have been meeting with many people who want to improve and they want to be even better in the future. For me, it has been a pleasure to cooperate with them and I have had great meetings with the Australian team.
“One of the biggest challenges that remains is North America. The missed acquisition of GE Appliances in 2016 and then the bankruptcy of Sears means we are still in a recovery phase, however we have been taking the right steps since. We have been making progress month after month and quarter after quarter, but still North America remains the biggest challenge.”
Fierling confirmed he is also committed to finding growth opportunities in the Australian market.
“Growth is what we are aiming for. We want to remain humble, but we want to take full advantage of the launches we have in front of us and the innovation we are offering the end consumer in the coming months and coming quarters – and we have some great things to come. There are also lots of opportunities from a brand mix perspective and product mix as well.
“As a company, we need to grow again and create profit by growing. We have all of the ammunition to do so – we have great products, we are launching new innovations into the market. Mix is a big opportunity that we have in front of us – if you look at this market – AEG and Electrolux are great brands that can grow on top of Westinghouse and there is much more to come going forward.”