More companies get a handle on hand vacs - hand vacuum cleaners

Discount Store News, Feb 19, 1996 by Arthur Goldgaber

NATIONWIDE DSN REPORT -- Many vacuum cleaner manufacturers now jumping on the hand vacuum bandwagon are being lured by the untapped potential in the category; only 10% to 15% of U.S. households own one. However, Johnny-come-latelies will discover that before they clean up they must first contend with Royal's Dirt Devil models and Black & Decker's Dustbusters, which together control 80% of the hand vac market.

Neither company discloses total hand vac unit sales to the Vacuum Cleaners Manufacturers Association, but an estimated 6 million corded AC-powered and cordless DC-powered hand vacs were sold in 1995, said James Holcomb, Royal's v ice president for marketing and strategic planning.

"There has been a lot of activity in the category because of the fairly relative low cost of entry," Holcomb said, but he noted that demand for the category probably peaked in the early 90s and is now in a more mature growth period.

The category is also "extremely price-sensitive," said Rose's Stores buyer John Denniston. Few products at Rose's are as affected by a $5 drop in price than hand vacs.

"A drop from $34 to $29 for a hand vac will move quite a few of them," said Denniston. He also added that the category does spike in the fourth quarter, but not quite as much as men's shavers. People consider the hand vac more of a gift item or impulse item, "and it fares well at Christmas time," he said.

In the past couple of years, Eureka, Hoover and Bissell have introduced their own hand vac models, and the trend is continuing. Each last month introduced new versions of their products, such as Hoover's Twist and Vac (with a nozzle that swivels) and Bissell's Little Green Deluxe, an upgrade of the lightweight, portable extractor. Sanyo introduced a variation on the theme with its portable canister vac, which has a 650-watt motor and a $39.99 sticker.

Black & Decker rolled out a new type of upright Dustbuster, the cordless Dustbuster FloorVac, which will be available at retail in August. The company promotes it as having the convenience of a Dustbuster hand vac and the versatility of an upright.

"It addresses a behavioral shift," said Dann Provolo, Black & Decker's marketing manager for cleaning products. "People get out their big vacuums only two to three times a month instead of once a week, as they did a generation ago. Between those times, they do convenience cleaning."

However, the FloorVac's suggested retail price of $129.99 may be out of the range of many discount shoppers. "It's real pricey," said Denniston, who added a consumer could buy a full-size upright vacuum cleaner with a 12-amp motor for just a few more dollars. Royal's new Dirt Devil cordless Broom Vac may capture more of the in-between market with its $49.99 price point.

The hand vac market was invented in the 1970s by Black & Decker, explained Holcomb, but it didn't really take off until 1981, when the company introduced the first cordless, rechargeable Dustbuster. Royal popularized the corded hand vac in the mid-1980s with the introduction of the lightweight Dirt Devil featuring a plastic housing. It also recently introduced its own cordless model, the Dust Devil.