Panasonic ending vacuum manufacturing?

[blackheart]

A few weeks ago i took a trip and visited a shop i'm familiar with. I learned a lot from the guy, but I think the most impacting thing he said was that Panasonic will be ending their production of vacuums. I can't remember when he said this will be happening. Kinda sad to see them they they've made some nice machines over the years.

 

[fan-of-fans]

He may know insider information, but I kind of doubt that is true. They have still been coming out with new vacuum designs lately, which I don't think they would be if they were going to stop making vacuums.

 

[eurekaprince]

If true, that would severely impact the Kenmore vacuum line-up as some of the best Kenmores (not the low-end budget models) are made by Panasonic for Sears. If true, this would truly be a major blow to the vacuum cleaner world - especially the North American market.

 

[panasonicvac]

They will still make their cheaper models and they will continue making vacuums for Kenmore but the top of the line performance plus platinums are for sure going to be gone soon.

 

[panasonicvac]

Actually I take that back

I just spoke with my old buddy and told me the confirmed news. As of December they will no longer be making vacuums but they will still make parts for them. Also Panasonic did not renew their contract with sears so the Kenmores made by Panasonic will also be gone as well.

 

[blknblu]

A sign of the times, just like the Japanese TV manufacturers getting out of the business, as the American ones did before them. these are the ones I remember getting out recently. Brand names won't mean a thing, like RCA or Westinghouse (nothing to do with the old companies). Sony of course has not made a TV in years, it was subcontracted out.


 


<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-weight: normal;">Recently sold or licenses transferred:</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-weight: normal;">
<div>Toshiba-Compal 2015</div>
<div>Sharp-Hisense 2016</div>
<div>Sanyo-Funai Electric-2015</div>
</div>

 

[panasonicvac]

Just like Panasonic

This similar experience also happened with Sharp and Sanyo when they also quit making vacuums as well.

 

[sharkcar19998]

Hold up,

Does this mean no more kenmore progressive? If so we are falling into Armageddon

 

[fan-of-fans]

That is quite shocking. Since I think all of Kenmore's current canisters, stick vac, and most uprights except for the very entry-level are made by Panasonic, do you think they will find another manufacturer or will they discontinue them altogether? I had felt for awhile that something may happen to Kenmore vacuums at some point because of the issues Sears is having. But I didn't ever expect it to be because of Panasonic leaving the vacuum market. I guess sometimes when you are used to having something, you think you always will, and take it for granted. That is very sad indeed, a double whammy really.

 

[panasonicvac]

Yes

Any Kenmore Progressive that is made by Panasonic will be discontinued by the end of the year. But they will still make most parts available for them

 

[panasonicvac]

fan of fans

Yes it will be a shame as Panasonic is and always will be my favorite brand but I'm overall not that surprised really as you said that sears always had some issues with not selling stuff well anymore and most dealers overall recommend and sold Riccar/Simplicity more than Panasonic because of their better quality and performance.

 

[delaneymeegan]

 


 


I find it hard to believe they will simply STOP making them.  It's more likely they will sell the division that does the manufacturing.  Selling would give a profit for the company.  STOPPING wouldn't provide any income for the assets.  .....unless another manufacturer has bought certain parts of their manufacturing division OR paying them to STOP.


 


One way a company eliminates competition, is by buying parts of their competitor, or Paying them to STOP.

 

[ryan1994jeep]

When you see the end is near...

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016...kenmore-craftsman-diehard-to-shore-up-losses/

 

[panasonicvac]

Now I wonder if Panasonic will still continue to make motors on Dysons. I will have to find out about that

 

[human]

Sears has been circling the drain for a long time. The Craftsman brand would be fairly easy to sell off. Those products have been available at other stores like Ace Hardware for quite some time. Kenmore would be much more difficult since it's just a brand they slap on other manufacturers' products.

As for Panasonic-made Kenmore vacuum cleaners, I will shed not one tear for them as they are totally flimsy plastic shit. I'm sure Sears will just slap their name on some other Chinese made plasticrap vacs and most of the buying public won't even notice the difference, even if they do accidentally wander into a Sears store.

 

[eurekaprince]

This is terrible news for Canadians. Sears was the only department store where you could see a large selection of high end bagged vacuum cleaners. Panasonc/Kenmore uprights were excellent cleaners as were many of their power nozzle canisters. Canada has seen the loss of all Electrolux vacuums, all Miele uprights and now all Panasonic vacs. Our selection is dwindling each year. Very sad.

 

[sebo_fan]

Welcome to our world in Europe and UK....

 

[vacerator]

Yes, but

Panasonic has an Asian made line of vacuums, so we may see more of those in the USA?

 

[eurekaprince]

Maybe Sears will now need to find another manufacturer for their Kenmore line. Tacony in Missouri seems the obvious choice since the "Made in USA" philosophy might work well in Sears stores. Tacony for the high-end vacs and TTI for the low-end vacs. Makes sense to me. So sad to see Panasonic go - as sad as seeing Eureka Williams disappear.

 

[panasonicvac]

This is one of my favorites

My Uncle's MC-V6255 he's had since 1995 he bought from my old vacuum store that had sold and has been a dealer of Panasonic for over 30 years until he retired a few years ago. He bought this to replace the old beat up brown Jet Flo (I can't remember what model) he's had since 1992 from his first marriage that was given by her parents at the time. Overall a really fun rare and ridiculously powerful Panasonic. I think it's by far the best Panasonic I have ever used out of all the other Panasonic I have seen and used when I was growing up.

 

[suckolux]

Had that one forever, nothing ever broke

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Perhaps TTI

will scarf up Panasonic.


  Panasonic bought the patent for Hoover's Dial A Matic, as we know.


  It seems, sadly, that Sears may be on itsway out too.


  "Progress".  ???????

 

[delaneymeegan]

Let's not lose our heads people.

 


 


This is more a technicality than anything.  


 


If Kmart sells Kenmore's rights to someone else, I'm sure the new owner will still sell Kenmore at Sears and Kmart.... and probably other places in the future.  Same with Craftsman.


 


It would be fitting if Whirlpool bought the Kenmore name.  Then they could add it to the stack of other names they stick on their appliances-  Kitchenaid, Estate, Admiral, Roper, ..... 


 


 


 

 

[eurekaprince]

If indeed Kmart/Sears survives, and they decide to keep the store brand Kenmore, and they decide to continue to sell high end deluxe bagged Kenmore vacuums as before, they will need to look for a new American supplier and manufacturer who will work with their Sears product development team as Panasonic has done for over 2 decades. To me, the logical replacement would be Tacony since so much of their product line matches the bagged Kenmore line (bag-first uprights and power nozzle canisters). We might even see Centec power nozzles retained and combined with Tacony canisters. Who knows?

 

[s2_82]

Wow..

Definitely wasn't ready to hear that news. I've had a few family members that each had panasonics that seemed to hold up well and were pretty good machines. It'll be a significant loss to the vac world for sure. Sad to see them discontinue what was once a really good piece of their business...

 

[blknblu]

Kenmore

The three Sears brands with some value (Kenmore, Craftsman, & Diehard) are ac<span style="font-size: 12pt;">tually owned by KCD, IP. LLC, a subsidiary of Sears holdings. </span>


<span style="font-size: 12pt;">This was setup back in 2006, and is a bankruptcy remote entity.</span>


 


<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Vacuums with the Kenmore name may just disappear like the Kenmore sewing machines.</span>


<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Remember, they are bleeding money like crazy.</span>


<span style="font-size: 12pt;">--------------</span>


<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Look at your choice of canister vacs in some stores now.  A sad state of affairs.</span>


 


<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here is a quick look at a few stores:</span>


 


canister vacs


Walmart - Bissell


 


Best Buy-


Atrix, Dyson, Electrolux, Fuller Brush, Hoover, Koblenz, MetroVac, Panasonic, Shark, Sirena


 


Target-


Bissell, Dyson, Metro, Panasonic, ReadiVac


 

 

[panasonicvac]

My other favorite would be

My MC-V7387. We had one of those before at our first cabin we bought in 1995 and we remodeled it in 96. The vacuum we bought before the MC-V7387 was one just like this but it was green and I don't know what the model it was, my dad thought it was a Sharp and my mother thought it was a Panasonic. But anyway one day that vacuum was sparking and blew up the vacuum which was overall not the vacuum's fault, it was an outlet that got wired in wrong after the remodel and there was no way it could've been fixed because it was melted on the inside so the electrical guy ended up buying us another vacuum so it was this one. Overall this is my favorite childhood machine of all time, it was such a fun and cool vacuum to use whenever we would go up to the cabin. It's also a really powerful machine with it's steel handle, bottom plate, brushroll with replaceable brishstrips, awesome suction and airflow with it's triforce twin fan motor which I can say it overall ties the performance with the Riccar 8 series or Simplicity 7 series twin fan motor, and my favorite overall was the cord rewinder on this. We sold the cabin along with the vacuum in 2003 because we got a central vacuum later at our second cabin we bought a few years later and ever since then I have been trying to find one of these again and I finally got it for Christmas in 2010 that came like it had been manufactured refurbished. Hardly ever used this at all because I like to keep this in it's excellent shape as possible.

 

[eurekaprince]

If Sears is bleeding money, I wonder if their sales of vacuums is also so low that it is not a financially healthy department. Something tells me that compared to other departments, floor care does really well at Sears - at least in Canada. It is the only "normal" retailer in Canada (from coast to coast) that has a consistently wide variety of basic, traditional bagged vacuums to choose from. It is the easiest place to go for bags and belts and filtres - I am often finding myself at Sears to pick up supplies for a Miele or an Electrolux or a Hoover. The stores are all open on Sunday which is not the case for most vacuum specialty shops.

Most importantly: Kenmore vacuums made by Panasonic, and Panasonic vacuums themselves, have consistently topped the ratings tables in Consumer Reports for at least the last 10 years. Both uprights and canisters. And the Brand Reliability surveys done by CR also indicate a pretty reliable brand compared to other vacs out there.

So, my intiution (pardon the Kenmore pun) is that the floor care departments of Sears are actually a bright spot on their spreadsheets. I would be surprised if the Kenmore vacs disappear altogether.

 

[dysonman1]

I was in K-Mart recently and noticed that low to mid line Kenmore branded uprights (bagless, of course) are manufactured by Eureka (Swedish Electrolux). Very inefficient dual cyclone system - if they were going to copy a very old Dyson design, they should have done a better job. Perhaps the inefficient design which allows much dust into the motor, is to hasten the end of the machine's life.

The top of the line Kenmore cleaners they NOW sell are still Panasonic designs.

But I have heard for six months now, by people who are very much "in the know" that Panasonic is going to stop making vacuums for the US market.