Lookin' Good!
LG -- the Korean brand -- seems to be making significant inroads into the high-end market for kitchen and laundry room equipment. I had noticed their products recently because they look so cool.
I was reading earlier this year how people are spending more and more on high end appliances and knick knacks for their homes as they get used to paying more for the homes themselves. If you pay $1M+ for your southern San Jose four-bedroom, three-bath house, you may as well equip it equally well! According to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
LG is aiming at wealthier consumers than GE and many other mainstream U.S. brands. LG appliances in the U.S. sell for an average of $800 to $1,000, according to data collected by market researcher Stevenson Co., which tracks such "white goods" sales. By contrast, GE, Whirlpool and Frigidaire sell most of their appliances for $400 to $600 on average. Sub-Zero refrigerators, on the other hand, sell for $1,600 to several thousand dollars each, and more than half of Viking's products also sell for more than $1,600.
LG's products are "positioned [at the] upper end and they are selling well," says Lisa Smith, general manager for appliances at Best Buy's headquarters in Richfield, Minn. "LG appeals to a customer base that's really interested in innovation, pure technology and great aesthetics." Ms. Smith says LG seems to be getting a boost from the company's image as a manufacturer of high-tech consumer electronics, from advanced cellphones to flat-screen TVs. LG sells some of its TV products under the Zenith brand, a longtime U.S. nameplate it now controls.