EXCLUSIVE: The Good Guys Drop Whirlpool As Arisit Take Over Distribution

US appliance giant Whirlpool has appointed the Gerry Harvey owned distributor Arisit to sell their products in Australia while The Good Guys has moved to discontinue the brand.

According to Liam Bryers Director of Sales & Marketing Oceania at Whirlpool the decision to appoint Arisit was taken last month with the contract set to be signed next week.

ChannelNews can confirm that The Good Guys is set to stop selling Whirlpool products after several months of discussions regarding the brand which was not selling well at the JB Hi Fi owned stores.

According to Bryers the current Whirlpool stock held by The Good Guys is owned by The Good Guys and they will “Not be taking it back”.

According to industry sources the move to give the brand to the Harvey Norman owned distribution Company is part of a major play to get the KitchenAid large appliances range spanning refrigerators microwave and ovens ranged at key Harvey Norman stores.

Last year Bryers who is a former Harvey Norman store proprietor launched a Kitchen Aid experience centre at Camberwell Electrics in Melbourne, according to sources the centre has “not done well” with management now looking to expand the brand in Australia with Harvey Norman.

At CES 2019 Whirlpool revealed a new range of smart appliances that are now expected to be sold Harvey Norman store.

Currently Arisit has an excellent relationship with NARTA with the new 2019 range set to be offered to NARTA members including Bing Lee and Brisbane based retailer Betta Electrical.

These retailers already stock several Arisit distributed products according to Simon Taylor the Managing Director of Arisit.

The issue for Harvey Norman according to observers is where will the Whirlpool brand fit as their retail operation ranges the Ariston appliance range, which is seen as a direct competitor to Whirlpool, its also manufactured in the same factory as the Whirlpool product.

Whirlpool JT479IX Crisp N Grill