irst impressions count, and Electrolux Kelvinator Ltd (EKL), the Indian subsidiary of the $17-billion Stockholm-based home appliances company, doesn�t create a good one.

Nine years after entering India, the company�s accumulated net losses (as on March 31, 2004) have exceeded its combined net worth. In the last one year, its net sales have declined to Rs 322 crore from Rs 480 crore in March 2003 - a gut-wrenching drop of 33 per cent. It has been saddled with litigation and loss-making manufacturing units. Worse, in the years that Electrolux was fumbling with the ball, other MNCs, especially Korean, have taken away large chunks of the market that should have been its own. ... more