On The Call: Whirlpool CEO Jeff M. Fettig

The Associated Press

Whirlpool Corp., the world's biggest manufacturer of home appliances, has seen sales tumble during the recession as consumers around the world hold off on big-ticket purchases like washers and refrigerators.

The industry has turned to promotions to entice shoppers to spend their money. Sales were still down in the third quarter, but CEO Jeff M. Fettig said Friday that demand increased in each of the three months in the most recent quarter, which ended Sept. 30. He talked about promotions and sales on a conference call with investors Friday.

Q: Can you make any sense of the impact of promotions, you know, a year ago, or in the first half I don't think we saw 25 percent off deals like we've seen here recently. How much of the improvement is a function of promotions and how much of it is a function of consumers just at a point where they can't put purchases off any further?

A: You know, to be honest with you, I believe that although promotional activity may be slightly higher, I think that when you look at the overall demand, it's based on kind of what consumers need. I don't think it's being driven by promotions in and of itself. So, you know, promotions are a little bit higher right now, but not significant enough to, I think, make a huge difference in our demand.