If you owned Hoover, what changes would you make?

[ilovehoovers]

As I'm in the UK I would like to bring back some bagged uprights and really push bagged cleaners, maybe an advertising campaign against bagless? Also probably rebrand an Oreck Elevate as a 'Hoover Junior' to tide the company over until we can launch our own designs.
What would you do?

 

[justjunque]

I'd be thinking along similar lines. I'm not only getting old, I'm "old school". I still prefer bagged vacuums.
I might also consider making a model that pays homage to a vintage model. And, maybe offer a bagged canister/tank model.
Of course, I don't know how well any of that would sell. They might only appeal to those of us "of a certain age". And we don't really seem to be anyone's target demographic. Except for maybe the pharmaceutical companies!

 

[lesinutah]

Versatile

I'd start with a brushless motor that would last twice the life as a brushed motor. Keep the vacuum lightweight under 10 lbs. The brushroll would be 2 in 1. Have a soft brushroll for wood. Then the push of a button the agitation atrips would come out. I'd have a wide body for the debri. It would have a geared belt driven motor.
The handle would awcond as a hose.
Lightweight effecient versatile vacuum.

 

[eurekaprince]

More bagged vacs! Even a bagged stick vac!

 

[tolivac]

DUMP the bagless machines-stay with the BAGGED Classics-like the Convertible.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Well, the first thing I'd change would be

Hoover's address! It would be back here, lol. 


Yes, a Convertible 'revival'...hepa bag, LED light, maybe windtunnel tech...perhaps quadraflex brushroll........................... A Connie with a powered  nozzle, etc..........................

 

[human]

•American made!
•bagged!
•no circuit boards!

 

[panasonicvac]

I'd bring back the central vacs.

 

[eureka1998]

Gottahaveahoove

I've always liked the Hoover's that had the on the front tool storage like the Elites and Windtunnels, would like to see how they could incorporate that again.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

indeed

Yes, AMERICAN made once more.  And, designed in America, marketed here.


And, yes, bagged!  And, decent tools and hose.  Personally, I think "Tufflex" was the best hose ever made.

 

[ilovehoovers]

I'm not convinced that reviving long dead machines would work well - it happened once with the Constellation and it flopped miserably. What we as collectors need to see is that what we want is not usually what will sell

 

[huskyvacs]

Need to make more than one type of upright, American made and not just assembled, more quality components, and listen to what customers want. Branch out.

Like them or not the reason why Shark has been trampling over every competitor is because they listen to what the customers want and then make that cleaner, and they have several different product lines for both sticks and uprights in various functions and sizes.

Hoover's fallacy is having just upright or stick and you get that one and that's it. They also have a lot of problems with their motors and electrical innards being improperly wired, substandard, or broken right out of the box. Their commercial line needs help too.

If the MFG was brought back on home soil and fix the poor quality control, the product line was refreshed and actually made sense and had features people want, and they had more choices and price levels for a vacuum they might start getting somewhere. Even if they copied what they did in the 2000s and took one of their bagless windtunnels and converted it to a bagged vacuum and gave it the best brushroll design, it would be a big hit.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

True

But... poor. Marketing, limited. Colors, dismal floor nozzle didn't help the new connie.poor, poor marketing. The cleaner, itself, is great.

 

[ajr2993]

I'd make a Hoover central vacuum with two 8.4 inch motors that are either in-series or parallel, that's also powder-coated and made in the USA with quality 20 gauge steel parts like the MD central vacuums, a utility inlet, a retractable hose system, multiple choices of powerheads either electric, turbine, or cordless, soft start to protect the two motors, 15 gallon HEPA multi-layer disposable bags, cyclonic separation for some models, large intake for increased airflow, tons of colors to choose, Wessel Werk and HP tools, etc. Plus, I'd call it the "Hoover Vortex UltraVac System." It sounds like a catchy name for a central vacuum system. I'd also hire the most professional central vacuum installers that know how to install a vacuum system. Not some stupid amateurs like the ones who install NuTone central vacuum systems.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I'd love a hoover central vac!

I tried to few years back...... disaster on all levels. Lost friends(well, turned out, they. Ever really were). Hard lessons but, it kind would be fun to have it in this old place. Nice ideas, there.

 

[kirbylux77]

Hoover needs to bring back canister vacuums! Both straight suction and powerhead models! They made a HUGE mistake by discontinuing the few canister vacuums they had left, considering most people are living in homes with hard flooring & area rugs, & perhaps a bedroom or 2 has wall to wall carpeting. I wonder what IDIOT on Hoover's marketing team decided to ignore a HUGE PART OF THE MARKET! Not exactly the brightest idea.

In particular, I would work on & improve the Hoover Windtunnel Anniversary Edition. It would have been really good IF the vacuum had been better built with higher quality components & better design. The hose, wand & tools in particular were a let down. It may have looked like a Miele, but was definitely not anywhere as good.

I would get my hands on some popular Miele models to take apart & replicate as close as possible. Incorporate some of the Miele features, from current & past models, into their designs. Make bagged & bagless designs, as well as straight suction, turbo brush & powerhead variants of each. Then get a German company, like Fakir or EIO, to make it to Hoover's design specifications & quality requirements. These companies already have a proven track record for making quality products.

I also agree with John that the Hoover Constellation should be brought back, & I would also make a model with a powerhead. Sure, the argument that has been made that it can blow around dust on floors is valid. BUT, that can be overcome with good marketing & instruction on how to use the vacuum properly to avoid the issue. Perhaps even make a YouTube video with instructions on how to avoid dust blowing around while using the vacuum, and then after purchase when the customer registers the vacuum with their email address send them a link to the video, as well as have a link to it on the Hoover website. Yes, it is a issue, but the ease of movement & the vacuum following the user behind them without any wheels and the vacuum being totally weightless in operation far outweighs the disadvantage of the vacuum blowing dust around.

 

[durango159]

Bring back bagged vacs and power head canisters

I realize that canisters were never the true forte of Hoover but they really had some great ones! We need them back!

Just imagine the possibilities that could be made with a tweaks to old model designs:

Rubber coated wheels
Automatic and manual height adjustment power nozzles
HEPA or similar final filtration
Serpentine or cogged belt
Standard and telescopic wand models
Same wonderful agitation that they were known for years ago: It Beats, As It Sweeps, As It Cleans.
Hoover made brush rolls, ditch the CWP ones
Same excellent 4 piece tool set that they had for the Dimension through 1st gen Windtunnel canisters
Integrated wiring system
Flexible, crush resistant and wired hoses. The black hose material that came out around 2001 and up till around 2008 for all later PowerMax and 1st gen Windtunnel canisters was wonderful. The hose on the Anniversary edition S3670 canister was terrible.
Pleassant sound that they used to have!! The high pitched motors on many vacs today is absolutely horrible! The Dimension 1000 canisters were powerful with a wonderful sound tone that didn't scream with shrillness at users.

 

[repairman]

If they're making money and things are going well, I say don't change anything. They cater to a disposable market in order to compete with Shark. You have the same chances of getting parts for Shark as you do for Hoover such as brushrolls, belts, etc.

If I was in charge of the commercial division, I would ditch the rebranded T-Series stuff and the Oreck cordless rebadge. I can't say much on the Hushtone uprights since I've never seen one. They really need to bring back the Guardsman to compete with Sanitaire. They could also bring back the metal Royal uprights to have under commercial or residential use.

They should also do what the lawn/garden industry does. Sell the crappy models at box stores, then have a lineup of good models to sell at independent dealers.

 

[oldcrankman]

If I own Hoover......

I would stop making the hoover convertibles look cheap in the late 80s and early 90s and make them have a strong look and come back today.