er, and how in little time, through this wise take over, Electrolux found itself as the world leader in chain saw manufacturers.Electrolux never went looking for acquisition or bankrupt companies; their policy was to keep their eyes open that things will come by themselves. When Electrolux was ready to acquire a company, the financial statements of that company were very important. There was no standard method for treating acquisitions but Electrolux emphasized on fast action and on the eventual replacement of the top management in the poorly managed newly acquired firm. Electrolux preferred to change the top managers but to maintain the middle ones. Their goal was to understand and help the company to go back on track without often changing the marketing and sales staff. By 1983 Electrolux was one of the largest manufacturers of white goods with expansion taking place in Europe, North America, Latin America and the Far East. European sales accounted for almost 65% of total sales. Although Electrolux was and is a multinational firm, one great characteristic of this company is their focus on decentralization. The subsidiaries are always considered as profit center and are evaluated primarily on their returns on net asset. Even the corporate headquarters as far as size, are really small compared to the impressive expansion that this company has witnessed. Zanussi, on the other hand, represent the typical Italian company, highly innovative and derived by the investment of a single person or family.The company had a long history of success and innovation throughout Europe. The company started with wood burning cookers and became the leader of refrigerators and washing machines. Their expansion plan included offices in Paris and Spain. The Italian Company soon became a perfect example of vertically integrated manufacturer, which had total control of their activities, from production to final sales. The main problem of Zanussi was its strict ...
