Problem is Big Box Stores & Cheap Consumers
WalMart is just the one company that everybody recognizes immediately & blames them! But it's not just WalMart that was the problem here....it's all these other Big Box Stores that sell vacuums too....like The Home Depot, Rona, Canadian Tire, Zellers, Target, Home Hardware, Sears even deserves some blame to a lesser extent.
But what the REAL PROBLEM here is consumers that keep demanding lower prices for consumer goods! They don't realize that every time they walk into a Big Box Store, & expect to buy a cheap vacuum, & expect to see the price getting lower & lower each year that passes, the savings have to come from somewhere. So, the Big Box Store hits the manufacturer for discounts when they buy in quantity, & the manufacturer lowers their cost to sell it to the Big Box Store by lowering the quality. The consumer doesn't realize that by constantly expecting prices to drop, that quality suffers each time a new model comes out. And then they wonder WHY that cheap vacuum they bought is breaking, they call it a piece of junk, & they blame the store & the manufacturer. In reality, they have only themselves to blame!
One thing I have noticed, too, is that whenever I sell a used vacuum, people these days either want cheap bagless uprights, OR they are willing to spend around $100-$200 for a DTD brand, like Filter Queen or Electrolux. And unfortunately with the economy these days, they are turning more towards the cheap bagless uprights
. They don't seem to realize that if it was cheap & easily available, by the time they get it it won't have a very long lifespan left.
Cole, it doesn't surprise me at all that WalMart would carry both Eureka & Electrolux branded products. Chances are that Electrolux Home Care Products probably negotiated a deal with WalMart that said that they have to carry a certain amount of Electrolux product in their stores if they also wanted to carry Eureka. And I do agree that Electrolux is getting a LOT of sales because people remember the Old Electrolux, & don't realize that things have changed with them for the worse...the quality is no longer there like it once was. Just like any other brand that makes bad products, though, like Fantom Technologies, people will talk & eventually people will know NOT to buy their products, recognize Electrolux's poor quality, & they will be out of business....at least making vacuums. It will take a long time, but it will happen eventually.
Just my perspective on things....Rob
