Gunilla Nordstrom, Electrolux's newly appointed China president, has announced that the company plans to close its refrigerator plant in Changsha, Hunan province, in March 2009.
At the end of December 2008, Electrolux's sixth China president Li Yan resigned and Nordstrom, Electrolux's president for Asia Pacific, held a concurrent post as China president from then on. Having taken the position for about one month, Nordstrom recently paid a first visit to Shanghai and announced Electrolux's new strategy in the Chinese market. Nordstrom says, from 2009, Electrolux will focus on the high-end electronics and appliances segment market in China, mainly providing high-end kitchen appliances, washing machines and refrigerators in the market. Its businesses will be centralized in China's four municipalities and eight core provinces, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi.
Nordstrom reveals that Electrolux will formally close its low-end refrigerator manufacturing plant in Changsha at the end of the first quarter of 2009, which is in accordance with the company's new strategy. However, the company will cooperate with the local government to help their affected employees to find new jobs.
Since entering the Chinese market in 1997, Electrolux has continued adjusting its strategy over the past ten years. So far, the company has not made any profit in the market. Similar to its unstable strategy, its China president changes frequently and Nordstrom is the seventh China president for the company.
