From the article:
> What happened:
>
> Expense: Certainly the economy didn't help, but selling $3,000 laundry when
> Electrolux is selling a very good set at $1,500 does not drive many sales.
I agree with this one here. When I was looking at buying an IntelliQ 200 demo set, I was quoted $4000 for the washer and dryer.
Whereas, by purchasing Huebsch, I got machines which were just as reliable for nearly $1000 less.
Even though Miele machines are some of the best in the world, they just can't compete with Alliance.
Not to mention, most every other manufacturer (despite being not as good) is cheaper by a huge margin. Even LG's TOL washer/dryer set is still $1k cheaper.
Another problem is that I have a REAL big problem spending $4k on a washer/dryer set with a 1 year warranty.
>Outdated: Laundry now is bigger with more features and offers steam settings in
>both washer and dryer. The Miele is the same machine introduced in 2004.
This isn't as important to me, but I can see the typical American consumer wanting a lot of features and capabilities for the price.
My Huebsch machines are very basic machines and have about as many features as the near BOL models from the other manufacturers, but that's good enough for me. Quality matters to me more than having a "Beach Towels" cycle.
>Not Stackable: All front laundry is now stackable except Miele.
I personally don't see how a 5.0 cu.ft washer and a 9 cu.ft dryer could be used in a Stackable configuration unless you are 7 ft tall or don't mind using a ladder to load the dryer.
I can see why this would have prevented Miele from penetrating the market though.
As much as I hate to say it, In North American, especially Canada, Miele isn't exactly good value for the money. Huebsch/Speed Queen has much better value for the money.
Keep in mind that compared to the American Market, Miele machines are much more expensive up here and that really sucks.
I guess I'm not too surprised I guess. The sad part is, Large Appliances isn't where people usually splurge money, unless they are rich or something. They'd rather spend that money on a big TV, a nice computer or a nice car.
