Who Makes What in Appliances

Let's talk appliances. It seems to me as if they're just not made as good as in years past.

In today's world, it seems as if most appliances have a life of maybe 10 years if you're lucky.

I know in the year 2001-2010, we bought 3 refrigerators—costly and frustrating. I know people who have 1950s Kelvinators that still run!

If you want to get an appliance repaired, get ready to wait. My daughter's 5-year-old fridge died. She had an extended warranty. After buying 2 small mini-fridges, waiting 2 months for parts to come in, she gave up and bought a new fridge.

I think that's a lesson in "don't buy extended warranties." They're practically worthless. But I didn't write this post to rant but to give some eye-opening information.

WHO MAKES APPLIANCES

You'll probably be surprise to find that most appliances, regardless of brand name, are made by a handful of companies.

Appliances may look different on the outside, the mechanical design of the comparable models is usually identical regardless of brand name. To me, that means there's little reason to have brand-loyalty.

Here are the major manufactuers.

Electrolux makes: Frigidaire, GE., also some Kenmore depending on the model.

LG makes: their own label as well as some Kenmore depending on the model.

Samsung makes: their own label as well as some Kenmore depending on the model.

Whirpool makes: Amana, Maytag, KitchenAid, Kenmore, Jenn-Air, and Costco’s Kirkland brand.

You may well ask, why these companies continue to manufacture so many different brands. Mostly, it's a marketing strategy designed to help retailers sell branded products. I can understand that. Most of us start out buying the appliance names we grew up with. 

My parents' household had Whirlpool appliances so that's what I bought when I set up a home. I swore by Whirlpool and Kenmore which was made by Whirlpool back then too.

Manufacturing companies benefit from multiple brand names because they can target multiple markets all at the same time. They can offer lower-end, lower-quality appliances in a market and not worry that the lower-quality will affect their top of the line models. 

In fact, if someone bought a cheap appliance and were unhappy with it, they may think, "I'll buy Expensive Brand name next time." 

They won't know that both machines were made by the same company and may have many of the same internal parts.

When you need to buy an appliance, focus on the individual models and features, not brand name. Read all reviews, the good and bad, and make sure you're reading recent reviews. If you really want to be smart, do an online search for repair costs or rant from buyers about a specific appliance. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Better yet, talk to a local repairman about the appliance if you can find one because experienced appliance repair people are an endangered species.