On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 19:14:00 +0000, shipwreck wrote:

> If KitchenAid is the #1 home mixer, with probably 75% of the market,
> who comes in at #2? I'm not talking about handhelds. Is it Viking,
> Bosch, Electrolux, JennAir? I'm sure I'm missing someone as well.

to take this in a slightly different direction (or maybe not), i just read
a very interesting book called "trading up". it is all about how the
concept of luxury has changed in America. a quick synopsis might be that
it used to be that there were low-priced goods which sold in high volumes,
and as prices raised volumes decreased ... until you ended at true luxury
goods which sold to very few rich people.

the new thing (perhaps because we have more disposable income) is that
there can be inversions. things that cost more, can sell more, than the
lower priced options. kitchenaid having 75% of the market seems a perfect
example. the authors note that it is sometimes the middle of the new
price curve that disappears. there might still be low priced mixers
(etc.), and high-priced mixers ... but fewer mid-priced mixers.

their observation is that we don't uniformly choose luxuries for
everything, but decide which are important and "trade up" for those. i
know i'm frugal/cheap in a lot of ways, but i did "trade up" to a
kitchenaid professional (old 350w) at one point.

somewhat in the same vein, "Panera Bread" is named as a success in this
"new luxury" category ... selling high quality bread and sandwitches to
masses of people for higher cost than typical fast food.

book link:

http://www.bcg.com/publications/trad...troduction.jsp

(the book also makes the shocking statement that 75% of all viking ranges
installed are never used)