The News Tsunami

Send us your news....all of it.  Hip replacements, bathroom remodels, pacemaker installs, second home purchases, or prison stays.  Actual appliance news is fine, but we're looking for much much more.  Your news is our news.  This is the News Tsunami, and we have checked our standards at the door.

• Harry Gianetti, the man responsible for getting Italy hood brand Elica into Home Depot and who launched Elica into 2-step distribution, has chosen to depart the ship October 1.
• Metallo Arts, makers of rangehoods for acid dropping millionares, announced that it will distribute the French appliance cooker Delaubrac Ranges throughout the "Americas".  This territory certainly includes Canada and USA, but we imagine also includes such non-obvious French Range markets as Bolivia, Idaho and Scranton.
• LAYOFFS:  Several tips came in this morning, October 24, of BSH factory layoffs and sales restructuring and related layoffs.  As described, the various sales teams for Bosch, Gaggenau and Thermador were merged.  BSH would not comment for this story.
• Reuters reported October 22, that Haier is not interested in making an offer for GE until there are clear signs of a US economic recovery, no matter how much they want it.  Such is the magic of Jeffrey Immelt's "day late and dollar short" strategy.  What does "no offer" mean exactly?  There are two, three four possibilities:
       1)  that Haier believes that the value of GE Appliance to Haier is so low that the offer Haier has in mind would be beyond humiliating to GE.  Foreseeing no deal based on their valuation, they held their offer, waiting for GE to lower its expectations.
       2)  that Haier has problems of its own, and is unable to finance a deal.  They were just looking to save face.
       3)  that Haier has its eyes on more delectable prey, say Whirlpool (44% drop in value since Sep 19), or Electrolux (47% drop in value since Sep 19)
       4)  that the Chinese government has decided to rip the Band-Aid off, cut its sick co-dependent relationship with the US economy, dump their US currency reserves and start again from scratch.  Painful yes, but over time China regains its strength and becomes the world's #1 power economically and militarily, with no second place in any direction.  And what of the United States?  Think Peru.
• Bosch will now be selling major appliances by Bosch Home Appliances AND tankless water heaters, by Bosch Thermotechnology Corp together to builders (assuming that there are any builders left).  Also in the efficient hot water space are GE, and Grand Hall with their Eternal brand.  These guys have expanded their definition of appliances, why haven't you?  With the coming of the energy retrofit "tsunami", look for big reinvestment in existing real estate (someday) to take up the slack for a lazy builder segment.  Water heaters, solar electric, solar water, air or ground water-based heat pumps, condensing boilers, creative water reuse, heat recovery ventilators, yada yada yada.
  Got cash?  It's time to buy or build your way in.
• Intertek Testing, the purveyor of the ETL agency certification mark, is launching a new Quality and Performance test and label.
  "Addressing your concerns and product marketing challenges, our new Quality & Performance Mark confirms product Durability, Functionality, Workmanship, Usability and Life Cycle. What's more, with the CheckPlus feature you can go a step further and highlight unique performance attributes for an added selling advantage". 
  We contacted Intertek to ask why Energy Efficiency was not also included as a test criteria, considering the abject failure of Energy Star to provide accurate and useful information.  Their answer was that consumers don't care about energy efficiency when buying.  Is that really the answer you're sticking with?  Neither do they care about being electrocuted by their major household appliance, yet you test for that.  They don't care about their kids sticking their arms in a spinning dryer, water being pumped across the basement floor, or being set ablaze when reaching for the cooktop controls, yet there you all are.  Consumers are idiots.  They just love the flashing LED indicators and the new candy colors.  It is your job, Intertek's job, to make them care, and to protect them even if they don't care so that with luck they can be buried with all the limbs they were born with, and live in a life sustaining environment all the while oblivious to the engineering and testing man-years that went into keeping those limbs firmly attached and the biosphere intact.  In the age of drowning polar bears and 4000 dead in Iraq, is not Energy Efficiency a category at least as important as wiring insulation colors, and flame tests that make you so popular in our industry?  Step up to the plate testing dudes, and accept your responsibility to society.
• Dacor promoted Stephen Joseph to VP of Marketing
• Coast Wholesale Appliance of British Columbia reported an 18.7% reduction in dividend payments compared to last month.  The not so fine print is that Coast Wholesale is still profitable.  Coast also reported $1.2 million of uncollected accounts receivables from Q3 "as a result of financial improprieties committed by an employee at one of its stores".  After an investigation, the police have been called in.