Thread Number: 27845
/ Tag: Brand New Vacuum Cleaners
Forbes Article - "How Shark ate Dyson's lunch in America's vacuum market" |
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Post# 311048   1/6/2015 at 09:58 (3,369 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)   |   | |
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I thought this made for some interesting reading. Not sure how accurate it is - what do our US friends think? Are Shark really dominating the market lately?
Britain’s Dyson knows a thing or two about innovation and shaking up tired consumer products. But over the past year it has lost its leadership of the US vacuum cleaners market, the largest in the world. Euro-Pro, a 100-year old company that had a mere 1 per cent share of vacuum cleaner sales in 2008, now controls more than 20 per cent of the US market. Over the past seven years, its Shark vacuum cleaners and Ninja blenders and food processors, all manufactured in China, have increased sales at a compound annual growth rate of 25 per cent, enabling the firm to triple its workforce from 250 to 800 employees. This growth has been aided by an aggressive push on television shopping channels, with $130m spent on TV advertising last year. But the company has doubled revenues from $800 million to more than $1.6 billion and usurped Dyson as leader of the US vacuum cleaner market since bringing in consultants Gap International two years ago. Chief executive Mark Rosenzweig, the third generation of his family to lead the company, kick-started the growth by moving the privately-owned company’s headquarters from Montreal, Canada to Newton, Massachusetts back in 2003. Five years later, the firm radically overhauled its product portfolio, dumping what Rosenzweig referred to as “opening price products” and replacing them with a focus on innovation. Design was moved in-house from external contractors, sharp new brands were created and work began on creating a loyal consumer base. Sales responded accordingly but Rosenzweig and Euro-Pro president Mark Barrocas wanted the firm to commit to near and long-term “breakthrough goals” in revenue, profit, and customer satisfaction that they believed would require a significant shift in its culture and talent development. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Turbo500's LINK |
Post# 311051 , Reply# 1   1/6/2015 at 10:26 (3,369 days old) by parwaz786 ( )   |   | |
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I was on a gaming site which is played by mainly American people and was bored so asked randomly what vacuum people have there. Loads of them said shark. Only a handful of people said Dyson |
Post# 311081 , Reply# 2   1/6/2015 at 15:55 (3,369 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)   |   | |
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The problem with Shark is the repair parts availability. There is none. For warranty, the consumer must box the cleaner up, and the consumer PAYS to ship it to New York, along with a check for return shipping. Within six to eight weeks, a repaired machine (most likely not the one you returned, but the same model) arrives.
You are, in fact, buying an orphan. In December alone, four people came in looking for Shark parts. For machines les than two years old. Of course, there are no parts. I sold all four a new American Made vacuum with repair parts availability, and a REAL warranty, and threw their Sharks in the crusher. People might buy ONE, but they'll never buy another one. |
Post# 311085 , Reply# 3   1/6/2015 at 16:09 (3,369 days old) by dys0nb0y (Luton)   |   | |
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that's not really true anymore as shark as upgraded their guarantee they do in house repairs and they pay for it to get picked up at returns to you.and what i heard most people get a brand new machine return to them.a
and the new best thing shark is doing is lifetime guarantee meaning as long as you have the machine guaranteed for life. |
Post# 311107 , Reply# 5   1/6/2015 at 19:59 (3,369 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 311130 , Reply# 7   1/7/2015 at 03:35 (3,368 days old) by mark40511 (Lexington, KY)   |   | |
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a Shark - but I called them asking them these questions:
Is it true that if something goes wrong with my machine that I have to ship it to you on my dime and then pay for you to ship it back? The answer was YES But, get this - If anything OFF the vacuum itself breaks, they send it to you free. For example - if the dust bin cracks or any of the attachments, they send you a new one free...But if it's anything on the body of the main vacuum itself, including the brush roll or even something as minor as the clip that holds the dust bin on the vacuum, you have to send it back....The nice lady said that what *MOST* people do is go for their second option, where Shark sends them a brand new unit for a heavily discounted price, instead of having to ship your vacuum to them to wait for repairs. I asked her how much the discount was....She said my navigator pro was 259 and the discount would be 95 dollars with free shipping.... What kind of warranty is that??????????? |
Post# 311132 , Reply# 9   1/7/2015 at 04:55 (3,368 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)   |   | |
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It is an interesting article. But, here in Europe, their Ninja products are pretty poor. There is no way they can outstock or even sit their products to the likes of Kenwood, Magimix and other brands. Only way that Ninja would be able to offer something different is pricing but then if its cheap Chinese junk, it 'aint going to outlast the likes of Waring or the Vita Mix type commercial blenders, or Kitchenaid etc.
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Post# 311135 , Reply# 10   1/7/2015 at 06:06 (3,368 days old) by mark40511 (Lexington, KY)   |   | |
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I don't get all the RAVE reviews on it. I still can't believe I bought one because I generally hate dry bagless vac's.....But the Shark does have really good suction and if you keep that foam filter and filter below it clean, it maintains good suction/airflow. I haven't been washing them as instructed, but I've been using my rainbow to clean the dust bin and vacuum off the filters of the shark...
It is a nice handy little vacuum but the only thing for me that it's good for is vacuuming carpets and the occasional pop off the wand and suck something up ..but the attachments (especially the dusting brush) are a total joke. I don't hate the vacuum at all. In fact, now that I'm used to it it's perfect for quick run through's....but there is no way in hell I would want this as my only vacuum. I've never used a Dyson - yet |
Post# 311141 , Reply# 12   1/7/2015 at 07:01 (3,368 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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I know many of you dismiss the information provided by Consumer Reports, but it is interesting to add their brand reliability findings to this discussion. When surveying vac purchasers about problematic purchases, Shark seemed to fare better than many brands. Here is their summary:
"Brand Reliability Kirby, Shark, and Bissell are among the more reliable brands of upright vacuums, while Simplicity, Miele. Riccar, Electrolux, and Oreck are among the more repair-prone. Miele, Kenmore, and Dyson are among the more reliable brands of canister vacuums, while Electrolux and Hoover are among the more repair-prone. That's what we found when we asked nearly 77,000 readers who bought a vacuum between 2010 and 2014 about their experiences. The graph shows the percentage of models for each brand that were repaired or had a serious problem. Differences of fewer than 3 points aren't meaningful, and we've adjusted the data to eliminate differences linked to age and use of the vacuum. The repair rate for our only robot brand, Roomba (not shown in the graph), is 14% - comparable to the more repair-prone brands of uprights and canisters. Models within a brand can vary, and design or manufacture changes might affect future reliability. Still, choosing a brand with a good repair history can improve your odds of getting a reliable model." |
Post# 311147 , Reply# 14   1/7/2015 at 10:09 (3,368 days old) by dys0nb0y (Luton)   |   | |
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Post# 311196 , Reply# 16   1/7/2015 at 17:15 (3,368 days old) by mark40511 (Lexington, KY)   |   | |
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Post# 311253 , Reply# 17   1/8/2015 at 10:18 (3,367 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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I think CR reliability surveys cover enough of a sample to give a good overall picture of reliability. Closely ranked brands can be considered about equal, but if you have a choice between vacs made by companies at the extreme ends of the spectrum, for instance a Kirby upright versus a Riccar upright, you have a better chance of not needing a repair if you go with the Kirby. It's all a matter of probability and statistics: CR explains that models within a brand may differ in durability, but a brand that consistently gets listed as having problems is one to avoid if you want to play it safe. For example, it seems that Swedish Electrolux canisters have a reputation of being more repair-prone than Miele canisters. If you are having trouble deciding between an Electrolux canister and a Miele canister, statistically, the Miele will have a smaller chance of being problematic. It's just basic science.
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Post# 311444 , Reply# 20   1/9/2015 at 19:41 (3,366 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)   |   | |
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Post# 311466 , Reply# 21   1/9/2015 at 23:27 (3,366 days old) by Martin187 (Illinois)   |   | |
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We had a shark navigator nv44 for 8 1/2 months before it started the decrease reliability. When I say decrease I mean something went wrong in the motor and ended up catching Fire. |
Post# 311495 , Reply# 22   1/10/2015 at 10:23 (3,365 days old) by kirbylux77 (London, Ontario, Canada)   |   | |
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Read that VIP Lifetime Service Guarantee carefully, & Shark has a very sneaky way to avoid honoring their guarantee:
"The original unit and/or non-wearable components deemed defective will be repaired or replaced as long as you own the original unit." Now, that may seem good AT FIRST....but especially when you read further down & see what else it says, you will see their "out" for not honoring the warranty. If you had that vacuum for, say, 10 years, & the main suction motor finally died & called them to honor their guarantee, they could call the suction motor a "wearable component". And they could also claim that ALL the electrical wiring, switches, plugs, receptacles, motors, electric hoses, electric telescopic wands, circuit boards & relays are all "wearable components". It's also important to note that Euro-Pro/Shark does indeed have a history of doing this....back years ago I read a review for the Shark Professional EP754 Canister Vacuum on the Canadian Tire website here in Canada....there was a review from a person who had the vacuum, & the electric hose failed under warranty on the vacuum. According to this person's review, they had to fight & argue with the customer service rep over the phone before they finally agreed to replace the hose free of charge under the warranty. Pretty sneaky warranty if you ask me! And one designed for consumers tempted by such a guarantee & dumb enough to NOT read the fine print & understand the terms & conditions of the warranty fully, thinking they will have a problem-free vacuum for a long time to come. Rob |
Post# 311705 , Reply# 24   1/12/2015 at 09:55 (3,363 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)   |   | |
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