GE Annual Report 2000: Business Review: Appliances




			GE Appliances Web Site


			GE Appliances launched customized cooling with the remarkable, new GE Profile™ Arctica™ refrigerators—90 years after first introducing refrigerators to consumers. The strikingly different refrigerators are the result of GE's largest-ever appliances investment program. Time-crunched consumers will love new GE timesaving features like ExpressChill™, ExpressThaw™ and Quick Ice™.

2000 was an exciting year for GE Appliances. Revenues, share and earnings grew in a tough global marketplace, driven by a strong focus on consumer satisfaction, energized employees and 60 exciting new products.

Our obsession with mining the Web for efficiency and growth drove digitization across the business. Nearly 50% of our $5.9 billion in revenues was transacted via CustomerNet, our business-to-business Web site, while SupplierNet helped us procure over $1 billion worldwide online.

In the marketplace, the Internet helped extend GE's leadership in the strategic builder channel. Here, we launched new, wireless business-to-business tools for personal digital assistants and cell phones, an industry first. In the retail channel, Web investments helped to build new customers while continuing growth with traditional retailers.

By far the most exciting development was the debut of our all-new Arctica™ refrigeration line designed to meet 2001 energy standards. This is the largest new-product investment in our history. These new GE refrigerators are full of compelling consumer features and have been designed with Six Sigma Quality rigor to be our most reliable ever. In addition, we introduced the industry's first full line of electronically controlled washing machines—Prodigy™ and Wizard™. We also extended our dishwasher position with Triton™, and we captured top ratings from a leading consumer magazine with our Spectra™ gas and electric cooking products. In a game-changing event, speed-cooking instructions for GE's Advantium™ oven began appearing on millions of packages from leading food companies.

In 2001, we will continue to stay focused on product vitality, digitization and Six Sigma Quality in order to bring good things to life for consumers all around the world.

www.geappliances.com