Reply #4: Maytag's big problem, the way I see it [View All]

[jmowreader]

Disclosure: I work for the largest Maytag reseller in the world. The following is my own opinion...

Maytag has to cut jobs not because of "pricing pressures," but because it doesn't have compelling products at all price points.

Let's look at their laundry equipment.

Maytag has three lines of equipment: Neptune, Atlantis and Maytag. Neptune is their front-loader. Atlantis is their higher-end top-loader, and Maytag is their standard-grade top-loader.

Neptune is sweet if you're into front-loaders (you should be; they use half the water of a top-loader) but the washers start in the $1200 range and the dryers start at $995. For that kind of scratch, I am going to walk you right over to the General Electric Profile Harmony system. If you buy the GE you really need both units, because there is a serial port on the back of the two appliances. Connect the serial ports with a standard nine-pin cable (which, IIRC, comes with the washer) and the washer will tell the dryer how to set itself so you get exactly the drying time and temperature you need--no more, no less.

Atlantis and Maytag both feature old-fashioned mechanical controls. This is the modern computer age--neat little touchpads are the way to go. Everyone else makes a washer that has this; GE wants lots of money for theirs, but LG (a Korean builder) puts electronic controls on everything.

We could talk about their range business for a while; you'd be justified in asking "what range business?" Maytag builds Jenn-Air, which is a well-regarded brand. It's also an expensive brand. They also build the Gemini range--two ovens, exceptional product, $879 for the cheap one and it has a coil cooktop. Trust me, a $900 range with a coil cooktop is a damn hard sale, especially when GE and everyone else in the world--yes, even Maytag--makes smoothtop ranges that cost less than $900. No Gemini should have a coil cooktop.

This is a weird market. You buy an appliance for two reasons--you don't have one, or yours broke. Generating sales is a simple matter of producing a line of equipment with unique and attractive features at various price points. Maytag has two kinds of equipment: one with unique and attractive features at a high price point, and one with "me too" features. Unless you're looking at very high-end stuff, Maytag has nothing to sell you.

Oh, and one more thing: Look at their ads. They still feature the "bored Maytag repairman." You know, our stuff is so reliable we pay a guy to stare at the wall, hint hint. The problem with this advertising methodology is that everyone else's appliances are as reliable as Maytag's now...so what else ya got? Right now, they ain't got nuthin.