Fettig targets a 500 basis point margin improvement with any newly-developed item, which he says should guarantee improving mix of products sold down the line.
Fettig could be right and the company may in fact be bought by private equity for a premium price, but as far as value-focused investors are concerned, the buying opportunity has likely passed.
Whirlpool knew something had to give and the roots of its turnaround, Fettig says, came when he and his management team concluded that hoping for a robust recovery was no way to run a business.