- This topic has 55 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 13 years, 6 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
I know who my daddy is , do you really know your daddy ? As for Cohiba..I don’t kiss up , I just respect the experience and skill because I know who he is. You must be some young guy who does not respect good fundamental experience passed along from real industry professionals.However ,I am sure you know the latest buzzwords that make you a …genius.How frustrated you must be.From the cover of the Rolling Stone… "I got a freaky old lady name of cocaine Kady whom embroiders all my jeans"
Of course, this, if true, would be terrible news for any caring appliance retailer. Thankfully it is not. LG has talked to Viking about building some laundry products to be marketed under the Viking name (also a very bad idea) and that is why some LG people were seen back in Greenwood.
I am sure that Viking, not unlike all high end manufacturers, is struggling now but please, don’t even think about selling out to LG!!
I’m sure that you know Fred does not "own" Viking .I really doubt that the investor group has any interest in selling to LG or anyone for that matter…right Liston ?
Fred Karl like any good CEO will look at certain possibilities from time to time. Some years ago he asked me if the company I was with would be interested in something but to attach too much credibility to an inquiry is a stretch as I see it. Wait for the ink to dry on any deal for anyone with anyone.I am sure Viking is suffering as are the others. I don’t think they are suffering though to the same level.You or Liston probably have no idea what an investment group may do in this case. Not a criticism , just the way they seem to act from deal to deal. It is about the use of the money , not the profit if you get what I mean.Investment group deals fail about 7 times out of 10. But the others make up for it. Depends on what they want out of this current investment.Life is Good, but not that good. Maybe its time for Appliance Advisor to give Viking its own dedicated Fourm,
It seems the Appliance Network can not leave anything Viking alone. LG Right….
I believe Fred has a very small stake in the company(I remember hearing less then 5%). The Stephens Group is the majority shareholder and you better believe that they will sell if the right opportunity presents itself. Afterall an investment bank/private equity group makes decisions based on creating shareholder value. That said I know that Stephens has shopped Viking in the past and nothing has come about. My contact who is no longer with the Stephens group menitioned to me that he worked on a deal between GE and Viking a couple of years back. Supposedly this deal was very close to happening but fell through in the eleventh hour. There was an article a couple weeks back in the WSJ(Front Page) that detailed the struggles of Viking. I would argue that the higher end appliance companies have been hit harder by the recession then the larger publically traded companies. As an appliance dealer owner I echo the sentiments of others in saying that I would much prefer an independent Viking.
His ownership is more than 5% but less than 15%. We should leave that to him. He started the company with a lot of sweat and whatever he got for the company and the shares he kept are for him to detail.If I owned one of the high end companies and you could see the pain they all have I think you or I would look to make a deal if we could that made sense. When we competed with Viking I think the advantage Viking has is Fred , Liston and others who make the journey more pleasant for dealers than others who think the dealers owe them for letting them sell their products.Viking does what they say. Others post mission statements and really mean something else.That is what I hear anyway.I agree with Stallion…without Fred, Liston, Persons and Becker, Viking would not be Viking. It would be just like the rest of the so-called "dealer/customer-oriented" manufacturers/companies – in name only. Say what you will, but if Viking (Fred & The Stephens Group) decide to leave the industry, the industry itself will be the loser.
Yes it certainly is good that in some cases people still help make the journey comfortable . Personal relationships certainly still have a place in business.Especially the high end appliance business where people count.Viking has been a great company to work with over the years. Credit may go to their "Southern Hospitality". I must admit in this day and age few things would surprise me in regards to corporate mergers but this one would be a disaster for the Viking brand if it were to happen. I am a huge supporter of Viking and have been impressed with their humility. I have personally met Fred a few times and had normal conversations with him.
Their leading competitor is an entirely different story. They even told a dealer who called to comment on how his distributor was treating him that he should just be glad he has the privledge to sell the brand and that the distributor is doing exactly what they were taught. It is companies with that attitude that deserve whatever this current market can serve them.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.