fallsauce

This is for a school assignment where we're putting together a marketing plan for Sunbeam. Basically, my job is to find out what the current situation is, how they can improve/appeal to new users etc.
So I want to know what you think about the products and its packaging/design, price, anything at all.

This would really help me a lot, so please, please, please reply.

__________________
"Hey little kitty with your tail dragging on the floor
You could have a following in every town that you go"
Electric Six - I Invented The Night

uncle_el

i don't own any sunbeam products, so i'm not sure i can help. i can tell you that i'm not personally opposed to them.

as far as appealing to someone like me, who doesn't own a sunbeam product, would be to have a consistent look- if the waffle iron comes in chrome finish, then the blender should, and so should a microwave, as well as the toaster.

and of course price point is key- i would expect to pay a little more for a toaster in chrome, than the identical toaster in say black plastic. of course the price shouldn't be considerably more than the identical toaster in a different trim, and i would expect it to be roughly on par with it's competitors.

packaging usually isn't an issue with cooking products, for me at least. stores generally have a floor/shelf model out. as long as it's attractive and gets the job done.

__________________
An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of inprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses. - Malcolm X

Rlyss

We used to have a Sunbeam cordless kettle that leaked. They said it couldn't be fixed and weren't too nice about it. We bought another one and the same thing happened within a few months. Sunbeam were assholes about it again, and the third kettle had the same problems. We kept all the kettles and took them to the company ourselves and they finally acknowledged that the design sucked and apologized. I think they compensated us with the money too.

Anyway, my point is that once they had our money they were assholes about customer service. I'd never buy a Sunbeam product after that because their customer service was non-existent and I wouldn't want the hassle of going through it all again. I'd never buy another Acer computer either, because of numerous bad experiences with them.

Rodney

I'm an old guy. When I was a kid, Sunbeam products lasted forever. They made these huge, powerful mixers that could do about a dozen things, including grind meat. Everybody's mother or grandmother had one -- and had had it for 10-20 years.

In recent years, my impression is that they're now part of some large faceless comglomerate (Jarden Corp., I think) and are turning out cheap plastic appliances that are no better or worse than anybody else's cheap appliances. I wouldn't go to Sunbeam for quality.

If I were them, I'd start a high-end, high-quality line at a decent price; you know, quality and performance at 80-90 percent of the better high-end appliances (Kitchenaid, foreign brands like Braun) for 50-60 percent of the price. Stress quality and durability and a "solid" feel, and make a link between the new stuff and the old instructible Sunbeam equipment of old, for us many boomers who still remember.

fallsauce

Thank you, that was incredibly useful!

Another question I want to ask since reading Rodney's post is: Are their prices cheaper or more expensive than say, 10-20 years ago. (Any other comparison would be just as fine.)

__________________
"Hey little kitty with your tail dragging on the floor
You could have a following in every town that you go"
Electric Six - I Invented The Night

maleficent

Just doing a search on Froogle for a 10 speed blender... (I know that Sunbeam makes one) Sunbeam's price is about 25 dollars (From Macy's not a cheap store, but not high end etiher) Other blenders in that price point were the no-name brands... Black and Decker, Farberware, Hamilton Beach, Oster are all 5 - 10 dollars more. Sunbeam seems to have the brand name recognition for a lower price.

I have a Sunbeam blender in my kitchen that's about 1o - 15 years old -- It's an old fashioned blender - it doesnt grate ice or anything like that, but it's good forbasic blending. I also have an Oster that I paid 3x as much, that unless it's seated just right on the base, it leaks, every time... it's got way more functionality that I need for blending.

Sunbeam makes a basic product, at a basic price --it's kinda no frills stuff -- but with all the cooking shows on -- people seem to want frills.

__________________

raeanna74

I can ditto the opinion on the customer service - though not personally. My Mom had a sunbeam crock pot at one point. She'd bought it from the store, brought it home, discovered a great big chip out of the side. The store wouldn't accept it back and gave her information to get it replaced from the company. The company told her it was the stores responsibility. She went back and forth for a while before the Company replaced it for her. She had to pay for the shipping up front to send the thing to them but got reimbursed for it later at least after she got the replacement.

I got a mini waffle maker, that says sunbeam on it, at a rummage sale once. I think I got it about 10 years ago and it still works fine.

I don't own much else that I can find that from sunbeam. When I pick their stuff up it often feels like the outside would be easily broken. I don't buy a lot of kitchen things. I got mostly Black and Decker stuff when I got married and it's all working well still.

I guess that might be something - When people are giving for a gift, especially wedding gift or such they give things that they are certain will last. Sunbeam might do better to make at least a line of products that are guaranteed to last a good long time. I probably won't buy anything myself until something of mine breaks.

I hope that helps. Was sortof brainstorming.

Edit: I think they call the crock pot a "slow cooker". Same thing.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

fallsauce

I know that a Sunbeam has a lot of products, what is your favourite, and do you think there's a gap which you would like to see them fill?

BTW, thanks for replying, the text made out Sunbeam like its the best thing since sliced bread, but now... It's good to get some perspective from people who've actually used their products.

__________________
"Hey little kitty with your tail dragging on the floor
You could have a following in every town that you go"
Electric Six - I Invented The Night

william

Sunbeam is not the product it was a few years ago. I don't know if it's because of the bankruptcy, but I wonder. I had a deep fryer that was handed down, and it lasted about 35 years.
Retail products seem to run in 3 categories - cheap crap, middle of the road, and top end. Sunbeam used to run in the middle of the road crowd. Now they seem to run toward the cheap crap. If they really want to improve sales, they should go back to who they were. Dump the stuff they're trying to sell now to Big Lots, and start over. All of it. If they want consumer confidence, they need to provide it. Their products do not do that.
Another area of their sales is grills. I can't completely knock their grills, because my store sells them. Hey-if you want a cheap grill, it could be the one for you. Would I reccommend it? Not at all. Why? Because of the quality of parts of different companies I deal with. I agree w/the concept of quality for dollar. Does that mean you have to buy top dollar? Not at all. I use a cheap BBQ grill that I would put up against anyones gas grill for a meal. But the bottom line is - could/should Sunbeam be better? Definitely. They were known as a quality mid-line group that people could depend on. They need to get back there. That's just my own opinion.

fallsauce

Does anyone have any experience with their Cafe Series range? (I think it's only available in Australia, which is quite bizarre actually.)

__________________
"Hey little kitty with your tail dragging on the floor
You could have a following in every town that you go"
Electric Six - I Invented The Night

Cynthetiq

I don't think I'm that old, but reading Rodney's posts always makes me feel so much older than I know I am. I'm in agreement with the decline in quality.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Rodney

Sorry about that, Cyn. If it's any consolation, I'm not _quite_ at the half-century mark here. In absolute terms, I'm not old. Relative to most of the members of this board, though, I am. I grew up in a different, slow moving world with three television networks, cheap education, laws that bars had to close on election day, pervasive unions, everyone's father in the American Legion, credit cards and consumer debt very rare, most good jobs were in manufacturing, and in which the closest thing to the Internet was the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature in the public library (and they _never_ had the magazine you were trying to find) and mimeographed fanzines, and maybe ham radio. Oh yeah, and big heavy appliances made of metal that lasted forever, until we threw them out while they were still working because we wanted something flashier. People under the age of 25 haven't the faintest idea what that world was like.

So I guess I'm saying that what makes me feel old is the perspective I have. So much water under the bridge. I still bench-press 250, if that's any consolation!

Oh yeah, when I was a teenager, people actually made a living scavenging broken appliances like Sunbeam mixers, fixing them, and reselling them at low prices. Second-hand/fixit stores were everywhere. People with no formal education who liked to tinker with stuff could actually make a (very modest) living at it. That whole part of the economy has gone, thanks to cheap and cheaply-made products that aren't economical to fix.