{
  "id": 2203162,
  "title": "Whirlpool India sets sights on premium play",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/whirlpool-india-sets-sights-on-premium-play",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-20T18:19:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times",
    "slug": "the-economic-times",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/durables/whirlpool-india-to-revive-brand-sets-sights-on-premium-play-md-narasimhan-eswar/articleshow/133385847.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Whirlpool India has shifted its focus to the premium segment, aiming to compete with LG and Samsung in high-margin markets. With a new board and leadership, the Indian entity is now fully autonomous and not reliant on approvals from its largest shareholder, Whirlpool Corp. Six senior executives, including the managing director, have invested their life savings in the company to demonstrate confidence in its turnaround. Whirlpool retains 39.7% stake in Whirlpool India, while mutual funds hold 31.76%. Whirlpool now claims to be the largest player in multi-brand stores in certain product categories, while also planning to strengthen its frost-free refrigerator portfolio and enter the large-capacity segment with models priced below competitors. Despite rising input costs due to the West Asia crisis and rupee depreciation, Whirlpool is investing ₹245 crore in a new production line and focusing on air-conditioners, where sales have grown 50% this summer.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}