Indesit Company SpA chairman Vittorio Merloni said his family intends to continue controlling the company to ensure its independence and continuity.
The Merloni family has an about 40 pct stake in Indesit through the holding company Fineldo. The comments came after speculation that the white goods group was up for sale.
In an interview with the daily Il Corriere della Sera, Merloni also defended the company’s strategy of not opening directly owned production plants in China and India, in contrast to its competitors.
He said that investing in those countries to benefit from low wages does not offset a lack of productivity and that the penetration of emerging markets can be obtained through joint ventures and exports.
Indesit currently has a joint venture in China. Its main production sites are in western Europe, Poland and Russia.
To gain market share in new markets, it is more important to establish a working relationship with retailers than having local production sites, according to Merloni.
From Forbes