Building on the Brand

Whirlpool is a well-known and well-regarded brand name among consumers. In fact, you can find a Whirlpool appliance in one-third of American households, ranking first among appliances that are repurchased by consumers. With such strong loyalty and brand recognition among consumers, HVACR distributors who carry Whirlpool have seen that its suite of products helps to drive sales.

Whirlpool offers a full home heating-and-cooling product line, including air conditioners, heat pumps, packaged units, gas furnaces, air handlers and indoor air quality products. Whirlpool licenses its home heating-and-cooling products in the United States and Canada to Tradewinds Distributing Company LLC in Jacksonville, FL, the licensed distributor and manufacturer of record. With many successful distributors and dealers across the country, Tradewinds is now working to set up new distributors that have the sales and technical skills along with the marketing savvy so that Whirlpool and their own businesses can grow profitably.

Whirlpool came back into the HVACR market in 2003 after a 16-year absence; it discontinued its home heating-and-cooling product line in 1987. According to Chris Campbell, director of sales and marketing for Tradewinds, Whirlpool did extensive market research to determine the feasibility of bringing back the Whirlpool name to HVACR. The research showed that Whirlpool still had tremendous power among consumers. In fact, “consumers expected and assumed that Whirlpool was still in HVACR,” he says. “Whirlpool would not have entered into this if the brand didn't have equity with the homeowner.”

Whirlpool's research also showed that in such a competitive HVACR market, coming back as a traditional manufacturer would be difficult. Instead, it developed the licensing relationship with Tradewinds, a wholly owned subsidiary of Watsco Inc., to relaunch the Whirlpool HVACR brand.

When it comes to its HVACR products, Whirlpool is not an over-the-counter brand, Campbell notes. “It's a dealer-aligned brand. We're looking for a person that is a marketer, an individual that understands the value of brand leverage with the consumer. This is for dealers that want to be different and not a ‘me too’ brand offering.”

Distributors and dealers who carry Whirlpool work with their customers — the contractors — to leverage the brand. When a contractor sits down at the kitchen table to walk them through the process of installing or replacing the air-conditioning unit, there is some comfort when the consumer sees the Whirlpool name. Campbell notes that approximately 70 percent of homeowners don't have an existing relationship with an HVACR contractor. But there's a good chance the consumer has a Whirlpool appliance in their home. “That can be very powerful and a very strong leverage point,” he says.

With that in mind, Tradewinds works closely with distributors and their contractor customers on marketing and selling the Whirlpool brand. “We're trying to help the contractors understand the value of the brand,” Campbell says. Tradewinds provides a full line of marketing materials, including print, radio and television advertising. “We create marketing assets that they can pull from and make available to them that promote the brand and promote the brand with their dealers.” Tradewinds also offers advertising materials that go to consumers to drive them to their local dealers. “The marketing support has been very powerful for the dealers.”

Much of the growth in Whirlpool's distribution has been in the Southeast, Southwest and along the Eastern Seaboard. The company is now aggressively going after opportunities in the Midwest and the West. Tradewinds also has an alignment with Watsco's distribution companies and will be focusing on independent distributors. “We have found independents to be a great heartbeat of this industry,” Campbell says. Many of them employ experienced and savvy sales teams that have strong relationships with their customers, but they've not had a lot of access to branded products. “We want them to grow their business with us,” he says.