Nissan Retires 3 Key Execs; More Changes Seen
In a major restructuring aimed at boosting sagging sales and sharpening its image, Nissan Motor Corp. USA on Friday announced the retirement of three top executives, including the head of its key Nissan division.
Industry analysts say more changes are expected over the next few months as Nissan struggles to rebuild momentum in a market that has rewarded competitors Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. with record sales.
“Nissan is attacking its problems by changing management, which it tends to do more than any of the other Japanese car companies,” said analyst George Peterson, president of AutoPacific Inc. in Santa Ana. “But the question is whether the problem is in their sales organization or if it is just that while they have good, competitive products, Toyota’s and Honda’s are more competitive.”
The retirements, which include Tom Eastwood, general manager of the company’s Nissan division, were characterized by Nissan Motor Corp. USA president Minoru Nakamura as part of “an aggressive plan” to boost sales and regain lost market share. Those goals, he said, can best be accomplished “if the company is headed by a new management team.”
Also retiring, effective March 2, are Human Relations Vice President Ronald Hannum and Finance Chief Stephen Walsh, also a vice president.
Nissan’s sales have dropped more than 14% since 1994, when it sold 774,262 cars and light trucks, just 14,000 units behind No. 2 Japanese importer American Honda Motor Co. In 1997, Nissan sold just 662,825 vehicles in the U.S., trailing Honda by almost 70,000.
Company officials say they expect new models being introduced this year and next--including a second sport-utility vehicle and an addition to its Infiniti division’s lineup--will help increase sales.
With the executive changes, Nakamura is seeking to increase cohesion among Nissan’s U.S. operations. He brought in executives from the company’s finance unit and its manufacturing arm in Tennessee to succeed two of the departing managers--Walsh and Hannum.
Michael Seergy, regional vice president of Nissan’s Northeast region--one of the company’s more successful sales territories--will succeed Eastwood as head of the Nissan division. Katsumi Ishii, head of finance at Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., will replace Walsh, while Howard J. Kahl, director of human resources at Nissan Motor Manufacturing Corp., will succeed Hannum.
Nissan began its management reorganization in October when Robert Thomas was removed as president of the sales company.
Nakamura, who heads Torrance-based Nissan North America Inc., the holding company for all Nissan operations on the continent, took over Thomas’ job as well. Some industry analysts believe the move was part of an effort to tighten the Japanese parent company’s control over its U.S. offspring. They expect him eventually to relinquish the presidency of the distribution unit.
Thomas, who shouldered the blame for the sales slide, had attempted to turn things around by reorganizing management and launching a $200-million “Enjoy the Ride” advertising campaign. But the critically acclaimed ads, which featured the enigmatic “Mr. K” tossing off lines such as “dogs love trucks,” apparently did not help sell cars.
Nissan began retooling its ads this month, reducing Mr. K’s role and increasing emphasis on its claim to being the leader in “affordable luxury.”
Indeed, few quarrel with Nissan’s assertion that it makes good cars and trucks. “The problem is that it doesn’t have an image” with U.S. consumers, said analyst Chris Cedergren, managing director of Thousand Oaks-based Nextrend.
