Lets look at this form a dealer/professional standpoint.
As a dealer, and a salesman for 22 years.. I think I can offer a few insights here that may help to understand WHY Miele hasn't.....
IF YOU REALLY WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY.. read on. It's long, and you kinda gotta pay attention.
Firstly, in fewer words, Vacuumdevil above, has a pretty firm grasp on what is reality here. It is in fact how many companies view things: Yanno goofy stuff like markets/trends; profit and loss etc. And BTW they do have individuals that watch this site, and others on social media.. ALWAYS lurking just off to the left, behind curtain number 2. Don't worry, they arent judging you. Some may point and laugh at some of your suggestions, but how will you EVER know!!!
Here is kinda what most companies will sound when even us DEALERS throw ideas, complaints, or why don't we have... at them...Miele is our target here, so Ill screenplay the rest of this...
(Dealer Don)- An average Joe Salesman like myself..
AND--
(Miele Dealer Rep, or Miele US)-(MDR-MUS) for short-
Now...to the play...
(Dealer Don)- So, uh... When will we be getting a lighter weight upright from you fellows? We really could sell alot of them if you would!!
(MDR-MUS)- Well Don......Yah know...you MIELE dealers all over keep asking us this question. "WHENAREYAAAA gonna make this (lighter weight) upright". You keep telling us that the customer wants it. Our market research told us that many see weight as a feeling of durability. In our case it's kinda true. We also see you selling TONS of our former S7 uprights, and the current crop of U1's already. Clearly it must not be THAT big a deal. When we developed our current, upright, we did TONS of market research, and consumer polls that cost us millions of expensive dollars. We always gotta take into account what EVERYONE wants, even the dealers like yourself! Miele has to think about much, much, MUCH more...but our end goal is: WE must ALWAYS put out what the MAJORITY wants, NEEDS, and will BUY. Don, all this has to be factored in, while taking into account MANY standards and objectives already expected, and demanded of the industry. Most of them are some of our very own too, when contemplating a NEW model. This is including some that are higher than the norm, and most are likely self-imposed per company dictum; like the 20 year average lifespan... We put ALL OF THIS into the upright your saying you can't sell????
(Dealer Don)- Well Im sure myself, and thousands of other dealers.. keep asking for this... We are confused as to why you wont???....
(MDR-MUS)- Well there just isn't enough of a market there, believe it or not!!!
(Dealer Don)- Well, we do have a number of customers that won't look at your line, because your upright is too heavy, and they won't look at a canister. They say canisters are harder to use, and have always had an upright and don't want to change. Some wont look at a canister because of the higher price!!! What sayeth you???
(MDR-MUS)- Well Dealer Don, and all you other dealers, their are no, none, nada, ZERO, Zilchamundo, currently developed, or near future plans to make a lighter weight upright. In fact we may have told you dummies this at a recent dealer council meeting, or in emails, and company mailers.... We have sound reasons, most you will never learn of...but here we are again...
We figured this matter was shelved. We have shoved this matter off the table in previous discussion over the last 9 years we've offered an upright vacuum. At that time, we figured we had quelled this issue?
(Dealer Don)- Well what are we supposed to do when they complain?
(MDR-MUS)- Sell them on the rest of the features, show them how they only must tilt the machine back, how it EASILY glides around the house on the BIG back wheels. How when you DO have to lift it.. We have a convenient mid body grab basket handle grab to lift it up the stairs. See? It's not THAT bad when you grab it from there is it? IT's not like carrying a Hoover Convertible. No one needs pick up their vacuum by the UPPER part of the handle, although people have been doing that since 1908?? Anyway, it's your job to show them ways to AVOID lifting it... AND to most customers that should be a sufficient answer!!
(Dealer Don)- This still doesn't answer the growing complaints that your upright is too heavy tho...That may work for some, but not all. What do I say to HELP quell THEIR concerns that your upright is too heavy??
(MDR-MUS)- Well that is up to you to figure out... "LOOK our expensive ,and exhaustive research shows us that the U.S. market is already saturated with enough lightweight style machines, of various caliber, and option".
(MDR gestures)- "Look over here at your ********** or ****** line from the Tacony Company". "They have multiple models, over various price points, and levels, and the versions of course put out by your other competitor.. Oreck!!".
"Don, you should know that Oreck...well they have been making these things since God was a teenager". "And they are best known for this style of cleaner". "Then of course, we haven't even mentioned the Sebo Felix". "That too, is a fairly lightweight machine that you carry also". " So see Don, that there..thats a pretty light machine even with the Power Nozzle!!".
"In any case, this same research has informed us, that THIS market is already well tapped, and taken care of". "And all of these companies I've gestured to honestly....have fairly good degrees of quality in their product".
(Dealer Don)- "But it STILL isn't a MIELE machine"...
(MDR-MUS)- Well okay Don....our questions back to you, the dealers is this:
" If Miele were to invest millions into coming up with our version". "What will MIELE improve upon in regards to a technology that is in fact, obsolete, and in it's final form by those already marketing it? How can it be further evolved in it's current capacity? In our opinion the number of people in that market, are already happy with the choices already offered. They keep buying what they know". "Will you sell enough of them to make it WORTH our investment?" "With that in your mind, what is your question here"???
(Dealer Don)- "but it's NOT a Miele, and people want what YOU sell"!!
(MDR-MUS)- " Ok , look...out of all this expensive research, and listening to you, and thousands of pleads and cries from the dealer body"; "Here is our thinking and do with it as you wish to"...
Miele has been in floor care, and we have been doing it for a REALLY long time". Since 1984 in the USA, and 1927 in Germany". "Our RESEARCH has informed us that putting ourselves in this market segment will be a waste of our resources". "We wont be making good use of our development dollars".
(Dealer Don)- "Still we could sell a Miele version"!!!
(MDR-MUS)-"Look, It's a no go because we will simply be putting out another like machine, with no real purchasing benefit over contemporary technology". In short we wont be leading anything..just following. So stop asking us for this you silly dealers... Oh wait, just as a reminder, for you dealers that maybe aren't as well versed, we ALREADY have a lightweight upright machine in the Miele tradition. THe H1 Swing Series Quickstep Power Line series. Even though tis about the same as the machine that we introduced over here in 1984. And, because of the integrated power-socket, you can add a 228 or 236 nozzle to it; but now it's nearly as heavy as our U1 full size, and costs MORE!!! So you should sell them the U1 with TOOLS and a hose, a suction power control dial...(the U1 Twist is 499 you may remember). Our U1 features a bag thats four times the size of the Quickstep, has a longer cord, a hose to attach all THREE tools with.... "Sell up the larger series. It's NOT hard". "Explain further to your customer, that the weight is the built in durability"... (not untrue, but is to a degree).. "You will be better off". "Or really show off your sales skills, and TRY to sell them a deluxe C1,2,3 canister type of cleaner, which is a better machine anyway, and is a shade lighter than our upright, until you put all the hoses, tools, and thingamajigs in...."." But you never carry it all at once... Thats the ULTIMATE end goal!! Selling what we offer already!!!"
That all said...
My thoughts are this: Miele's NUMBER ONE consideration is their reputation for quality in their new developments. ANY NEW DESIGN, must pass the equivalent of TWENTY years of average use.. much as it's been since 1927 when they put out their first electric cleaner. This is NOT a move-able objective. It has to pass, and be close to former product, and at least meet the 20 year etc...
This is a MAJOR reason WHY it took Miele until 2009 to introduce their then S7 series uprights. It HAD to pass many objectives, including the self-imposed ones. And made to obtain the objectives of the multi-purpose design, and of course Miele's very well stated quality standard must be upheld.
So to explain a bit further: The full DESIGN OBJECTIVE, with the S7-U1 product was it HAD to do more, than anything before it in one, easy to use machine"... Yes a objective was WEIGHT.. it's still not super heavy like a Kirby and most Canisters are heavier, but by no means light....and it MUST make the floor clean both carpet and hard floor of any type, JUST like their canisters do.
PLUS it HAD to have decent tool suction to be like the canisters, but better than most contemporary uprights....Also, will the filtration be up to company standards, be easy to change the bag?? That's a HUGE reason Dyson, and all the others and their spinning dirt-buckets are SO popular now...Is it easy to change?? Yep, easiest of any really out there. Do they have a leading capacity average AND put out the ZERO emissions our machines with the sealed HEPA do??
Yep, as good as our canisters... but watch it, it's getting kinda heavy...
Something else we can ponder as we able thru this tome....
Miele didn't really even WANT to put out an another upright. After a very unfortunate run of badge built product by Panasonic, the earlier i170 and i180 upright lines.... They were perfectly content it seemed to just keep selling their high end drag around type canister cleaners. The ONLY thing that changed their mind is they finally had to bow to AND admit the reality, that the upright market was VERY strong here in the USA, and them ignoring it..was BAD for their business here. . And while the Panasonic built machines were junk and NOT up to Miele standards, the sales of them were fairly robust. And Dyson was steaming along at warp speed... And a DC- whatever was about 17 lbs. Okay...
This upright craze BTW is all thanks to Murray Spangler and his 40 pound, motorized sweeping pillowcase (B.T.W. Miele is just about half that). And that if they wanted to obtain a certain market share, for the USA they better come up with THEIR OWN upright quick, that met lots of consumer objectives.. but was well made, and more affordable than their canister lineup... So after * years of tinkering...
One thing that was ended up NOT being a major objective..was weight. They just had no way to make it weigh less and meet their well built criterion. Truthfully any well made upright on the market isn't much better in that regard. Only the Kirby to my understanding is higher, most of the rest are 20 and less. BUT no less than 16 or so. Even 16 lbs, is double the "supposed" weight of the lightweight market people keep asking for. No fondly remembered durable upright or canister vacuum was/is LIGHT. So the point to most manufacturers at this point... is really a moot one.
This should answer WHY. If not, you can always keep asking the question that dealers dont even get answers too. But most of this is what we are told.
In all, the traditional definition of insanity, is the same thing happening or being asked over and over again, with the same outcome every time.
It's not gonna happen. A lightweight Miele upright that can do all.. The End.
MY deepest sympathies to all that read this. It was rather long.
Chad, A industry insider...
