Benny - Shark vacuums began when someone in North America decided to produce a very powerful handvac and promote it with direct marketing and television infomercials - especially during the Christmas shopping season. The hand-vac was shaped as a chubby, little shark and hence the name. It was probably produced very cheaply in China just when that country started producing household appliances for all the major American companies.
The little Shark probably sold very well. Because the English name would not go over well in French parts of Canada, someone decided to use the name Euro-Pro on the French infomercials in Canada. This is how the infomercial-driven brand was created in North America. I think the next tv promotion in the line up was the Shark cordless floor sweeper.
The cheap Chinese-made Shark handvac and floor sweeper is what launched this company - and it seems to have grown in popularity for those who buy their cleaning equipment at Walmart and Canadian Tire and Zellers here in Canada.
Consumer Reports has not given high marks to the latest Shark cordless sweeper (the VX3 has really poor edge cleaning and can't pick up pet hair very well). But it's tests show that the Navigator is one of the better bagless upright vacs:
Here's their summary of the Navigator Lift Away NV352 (the 351, 350 and 356 all received similar marks):
"Consider this bagless upright if light weight is worth a few compromises. Impressive carpet and floor cleaning and easy handling in a machine that weighs a mere 14 pounds are the high points. You also get suction control, which helps protects drapes when using tools, and a brush on/off switch, which safeguards bare floors and prevents scattered dust and debris. But tool airflow was just so-so and pet-hair pickup subpar. The LiftAway also lacks a manual carpet-height adjustment, which is better than automatic systems at matching the brush to the surface. And emptying a bagless vac's bin is a dusty, messy process. Among upright brands, Shark has been a solid performer in our tests over the past several years, though a notch below Miele and LG overall.
Highs
• Excels at removing embedded dirt from carpets
• Performs well when cleaning bare floors; ideal for kitchens, bathrooms, and hardwood floors
• Excels in capturing all the dust it picks up, which is good if you have allergies or respiratory illnesses
• Has suction control, which helps protects drapes when using tools
• Has a brush on/off switch, which safeguards bare floors and prevents scattered dust and debris
Lows
• The on/off switch is inconveniently placed
• Requires manually emptying the bin, which is messier and sometimes presents problems for those with allergies or respiratory issues
• Lacks a manual carpet-height adjustment, which is better than automatic systems at matching the brush to the surface
Detailed test results
CARPET CLEANING: The Shark Navigator Lift Away NV352 does a very good job of removing the embedded mixture of sand and powder from our soiled test carpets. This is a measure of how well a vacuum removes the dirt hidden deep in the carpet and not visible to the user's eye.
BARE FLOOR: The Shark does an excellent job of removing sand from our vinyl floor, leaving very little behind and not scattering sand across the floor.
PET HAIR: This model does a fair job at picking up pet hair from carpets using its power head. The visual inspection of the test carpet following the pet hair test reveals traces of pet hair left behind and pet hair is caught in the brush roll.
USABILITY: The Shark is lightweight which is a plus when carrying from room to room. It also has a swivel head design for maneuvering around furniture. Another helpful aspect is its ability to detach the canister from the power head which allows for more mobility when using tools to clean. Its power switch is a bit lower than most on the vacuum's body."
Here's a picture of the "Shark-faced" hand vac that started it all:
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...6351P/Shark+Europro+Hand+Vacuum.jsp?locale=en
