Geographic Distribution (USA) of vacuum makes/models

[kubvan1]

I guess this post could go in either the vintage or contemporary forum, or even Off Topic, but I'll put it here for now.
Just wondering if certain models or makes of vacuums had fairly localized distribution, meaning US states or regions (not considering imported brands or distribution outside the USA)
I am curious, as certain models from a major manufacturer, such as the Hoover Constellation seem to have enjoyed enormous popularity over a long period, yet they are virtually impossible to find in my area of Pennsylvania. This is confirmed by a lot of non-collectors that I have asked. None have ever seen a Constellation, not even the local vacuum shop in business for 50+ years.

On the other hand, I have seen a few posts by people who have never seen an Air-Way in person, a brand which I would assume had a narrower national distribution.
Strangely enough, I have found quite a number of Air-Ways in my area, many still in use and not for sale.
The only thing I can think of is that there was an Air-Way dealer serving Southeastern PA at some point.

Really curious as to why some machines just never seem to turn up in some areas.
(and not necessarily just the vacuums that were marketed primarily door-to-door)

Cheers!
Doug Eisemann

 

[bagintheback]

Well, like you said, I have never seen an Air-way in person. I've never seen one on craigslist or a vacuum shop. However, my mom has a friend whos family lives in the state and says they have always used Electroluxs. She has shown me 3 of them that were a family member's at one point. And I see quite a lot of Electroluxs (mostly in bad shape) for sale around here. Same with Kirbys.

My grandma who lived in the mid-west said her family always used Hoovers, and she still does!

 

[djtaylor]

Lots of one, few of another.

In Utah we have always had a lot of Kirby, Electrolux, Rainbow, Filter Queen, Compact/Tri Star, Royal and Thermax... Basically, the door to door machines. Also, since Sears has always had a big presence here we have tons of Kenmore and Singer. But the other 'high end' vacs have only been hit and miss. Hoover and Eureka were always big here, too. Now days we have all the cheepy stuff by the ton. The locals are REALLY, REALLY CHEEP. Vac Shops are losing money in Utah. It is very sad. People would rather buy a POS every year rather than get something that will last. And forget about how it cleans, if it's bagless that makes it a better seller.
Sad, sad, sad.
Justin

 

[kenkart]

North Carolina

Is full of Airways Compacts and Electroluxes, Some Kirbs Filter Queens and Rainbows, when I was a kid...60s-70s there were TONS of GE canisters!! I never saw a Canadian Lux, or a Silver King until I joined this club in the fall of 94.Also I had never seen an Apex, Cadillac and very few Lewyts!, in my hometown, if you had an Electrolux you had ARRIVED!

 

[Klectrolux]

Nova Scotia doesn't really have a lot of variety. In my general perusing of vac shops, thrift stores, and buy and sells, I haven't seen many unique machines. Mostly Electrolux, Kenmore, Eureka, Filter Queen, sometimes a Tristar/Compact. I've only ever seen one Rainbow. We are mostly an Electrolux and Kenmore province.

 

[kubvan1]

I almost forgot, Electroluxes and Compact/Tristar seem big around here as well, although more so in the well-to-do households so it appears. (and of course Kirby is pretty universal) Not sure why Air-Way was popular, but I found a few houses that had both an Air-Way 88 and a Compact!
I still can't believe that a popular model such as the Hoover Constellation is so conspicuously absent from this area.
Then again, I have not checked out the metropolitan Philadelphia region, and it is all sort of a moot point as the el-cheepo plastic machines seem to be pushing everything else out anyway.
Cheers,
Doug E.

 

[scvacuumguy]

South Carolina is overpowered by Kirbys- in our metro area alone, we have 6 distributors. Air-Ways are nonexistent unless you brought one from up north. In the upstate, Electrolux is prevalent. Tri-Stars and Filter Queens are a rarity in the midlands area. Rainbows are fairly popular all over the state. Thermax is unheard of, unless the person moved here from another part of the country.

 

[Sablekid]

When I lived in Portland, they seemed have a ton of Royals everywhere, not so sure about other brands.

Here in lower northern Michigan its all the cheapest brands you can get and Kirby...there really don't seem to be too many middle-men in the group. Either you get super cheap, or super expensive. Its odd.

 

[suckolux]

Well, in my area, lots of wards/ sears, of course. I think followed by Hoover and Eureka, Kirby, Lux, after that a few Compacts/Tristars. Have seen a couple filter queens around, never a Rainbow or Airway. Might be here, have not seen ever. For what it's worth. Great question!

 

[kubvan1]

Not many Royals here in PA either!

That brought up another interesting observation. With the comment that there seemed to be a ton of Royals in Portland, I have yet to run across one here save for the 501 hand vacuum and variants. Any of my metal Royal uprights have been "imports" from other states. The local vacuum shop carries Royal bags, but commented that they were not common machines around here.
In the end it must boil down to distributorship, and in the case of DTD vacuums, who was out pounding the pavement.
Perhaps on nationally distributed vacuums like the Constellation, I guess it was just not popular with the demographics of SE Pennsylvania? Lots of Convertibles and DAMs though...

Doug E.

 

[Sablekid]

I have a Royal from Portland here, I bought it shortly after I moved there, and realized all over there were Royals.

It was strange too, because a few years back I had owned a Stark vacuum that came from Portland. Little did I know they were branded by Royal for a store in Portland due to their extremely high sales of Royal!

But over here, I only know one person that had a Royal back in the day. Now, no one has em!

 

[Sablekid]

also

all vacuums around here for commercial use are those blue and white Windsor vacuums. I never see a Royal, Eureka, or Hoover for any commercial use....just Windsor!!

 

[kenkart]

Strange!!

I remembered...in one neighborhood back home,everyone had a 66 Airway and a C6 Compact!!

 

[luxlife]

I've only seen an Air-Way once in Texas. I can count on one hand the number of older Hoovers and Eurekas I've seen. People don't hang onto old vacs in Texas. I suppose it has something to do with consumerism and the painfully stereotypical Texan ideals of always wanting something newer, bigger, better, more expensive, yada yada yada. I guess that's why we have so many Electroluxes, Rainbows and Kirbys. History shows us that Electrolux always had a new model right around the corner, and then of course the prevalence of Kirby and Rainbow is owed mostly to sales tactics.

 

[alaskabob]

thanks to the sears
and wards catalogs
there are a lot of
kenmores and wards around

now the catalogs are gone
more of the low end junk
is in the big box stores

 

[kirbyduh]

Here..

is mostly high end. Rainbows are extremely popular. Many people still use S.E's and a lot of people have e series machines too. A huge number of people have an electrolux canister in their basement or attic, but a few of them are still used regularly. Oreck is really popular in my county and surrounding, while I believe Kirby is pretty big across the state. Almost EVERY auction/estate sale flyer has KIRBY VAC in bold in the listing. They don't bother to list any other specific brand. I have seen 1 air way and 1 GE swivel top in my lifetime.

 

[eurekastar]

I can only speculate. But it's not unusual to see Kirbys at garage sales, the auction house, and pawn shops. I also think Electrolux has been a pretty popular high end brand. In fact, there once was a local Electrolux dealer in town. I've never seen another high end DTD brand in my area. I know a Kirby Distributor from a town over 200 miles away is covering our area heavily right now and selling vacuums left and right. Every time I turn around, someone is telling me they just bought a new Kirby or the Distributor was just by their house to do a demo.

 

[kubvan1]

Kirbys and the other "high end" vacuums

I was just recalling how my Grandmother was a long time Kirby owner up until the 1970's when the local vacuum shop started selling Electrolux. She was good friends with the owner, so naturally she became an Electrolux convert. Her Electrolux G is still being used by my parents, but sadly pretty much all the attachments have been lost and the machine is a mess. Still works great as far as I know though.
Strange she didn't get into Electrolux until the 70's but she had a 60's model?

 

[mercuryman]

Here on Long Island:

Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, most everyone I knew used Electroluxes--from the Model E through the Diamond Jubilee. The most popular vacuums I noticed were the 1205 and the Golden J/Super J. A few people had Kenmores, and some had Hoover Convertibles. I never once saw a Hoover Constellation, a Filter Queen, a Rainbow, or a Kirby in my travels.

Recently, Dyson has been a big contender in the market here. Miele has also become quite popular in recent years. However, there will always be the consumer who will nowadays run to WalMart in desperation and drop $75 on a cheap, POS vacuum that will fall apart within a year.

"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low cost is forgotten."