NEWTON, IOWA — Maytag has handed off sales rep duties for its smallest, unaffiliated independent dealers to The Crosley Corp.
The white goods manufacturer had previously serviced that retail tier via an in-house telemarketing and outbound sales function, but made the move to Crosley after successfully leasing six of the company’s distributorships in a multi-year test. “We found that our dealers preferred the warm and fuzzy, human contact,” explained Jody Maher, a senior sales administrator with Maytag.
The manufacturer is now leasing all of Crosley’s distribution centers, which will work in conjunction with Maytag sales representatives to service the “smaller rule accounts that we can’t reach,” Maher said. She added that those retailers represent “a pretty small portion” of Maytag’s dealer base.
Crosley, which recently assumed all two-step distribution duties for Zenith Electronics (see TWICE, February 12, p. 1), will provide sales training and merchandising programs in addition to sales support to affected Maytag dealers.
