By Patrick Avenell
Panasonic Australia has appointed former Hagemeyer, Whirlpool and Nikon pro Belinda Toner as its new product marketing manager for whitegoods and small appliances.
Toner has extensive experience in cooking appliances and seasonal, having worked on the De Dietrich and Omega Altise brands while at Hagemeyer, before that company was sold to Shriro. De Dietrich is set to be relaunched in Australia by ILVE supplier Eurolinx.
Before working at Hagemeyer, Toner was a category manager at Whirlpool Australia, working out of its Melbourne office.
Toner’s most recent job in the industry was a 3-month contract marketing co-ordinator position at Nikon Australia, which she completed in July 2012.
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Now at Panasonic, Toner will be responsible for refrigerators, washing machines, rice cookers, breakmakers and irons. She will report to group marketing manager for home appliances Sophie Barton.
“Belinda brings invaluable industry experience to our team which will support our continued strong growth in the whitegoods arena,” Barton said in a statement.
A major whitegoods player in its native Japan, Panasonic Australia has been pushing further into this broad category as revenues from television sales recede across the industry. Rather than be a ‘me-too’ brand trading solely off price, Panasonic has forged an identity as an environmentally conscious and energy efficient whitegoods brand, a point backed up by Interbrand recently naming it the greenest technology company in the world.