During the capital markets day in Charlotte (North Carolina), CEO Keith McLoughlin and other senior officers of the company presented a status update on the Group’s strategy as well as an overview of the current business environment and expectations for next year. Electrolux showed the current business performance: the operational recovery in Major Appliances EMEA is progressing well through a combination of an active product portfolio management and sustainable cost savings. For Major Appliances North America, the adoption of new energy requirements within refrigeration and freezers has been more complex than anticipated and will continue to have an impact on performance during the final quarter of the year, and into the first half of 2015. The performance within Major Appliances Asia Pacific, Latin America and Professional Products continues to be good.
Considering the next year, the core strategy will be based on four pillars: profitable growth, innovation, operational excellence, people and leadership. For 2015, total market demand is expected to be slightly positive, with continued growth in North America and stabilized markets in Europe and in Latin America. Electrolux is expecting a continued slowdown in demand in several markets in Asia/Pacific. Other factors affecting Electrolux in 2015 include an expected positive price/mix development for the Group, with a negative price trend in Europe mitigated by a positive product mix. Raw material costs are, in general, trending downwards and are expected to have a positive impact year-over-year. Cost savings are expected to be approximately SEK 1 billion for the full year. Electrolux continues to step up investments in product development, design and marketing to support future product launches.
