In the kitchen industry, different brands don't necessarily mean different companies, or different products. In fact it looks like most of the times they mean exactly the opposite. The reasons for this are mainly:
1. A second brand name is setup from scratch in order to provide products to a different market level or target group. A more luxurious, or a cheap brand is setup to distinguish the products from those of the main brand.
2.A second brand name is setup from scratch so that the company can get a
larger piece of the market, by giving "exclusivity" to more than one distributors or distribution channels in the same country/area.
3. A second brand name is bought together with a company, in an acquisition.
The brand name may be strong in its field, or its country, and he buying company decides to keep it and either use it along with its own, or use only this one in that particular country.
4. A second brand name is bought on its own, because it has high recognision and can boost sales.
More reasons - as well as variations of the above - exist of course. One thing is sure: brand names are important, and this is why companies choose to spend money to support so many different ones.
As far as products are concerned, it can be that a brand name has its own, when it is used to promote products of a special quality or design, but very often most of the product of the different brands that belong to the same company are virtually the same. In fact some times the only thing that is different is the ...label. Even different products though, usually share common parts, thus reducing the cost for the group.
All this branding thing, is certainly not a bad thing. But it is important that consumers know their facts and do not pay more to buy something better, when they actually only buy a different label.
Electrolux Group
MASTER BRAND
The name Electrolux is found on a large number of products, satisfying a wide range of consumer and professional needs. Sometimes the name appears on its own, and sometimes it is double-branded with one of their strong local brands, such as Rex in Italy, Arthur Martin in France or Chef in Australia. Electrolux as a master brand is also found in combination with Juno, Dishlex, Kelvinator, and AEG.
NATIONAL CONSUMER BRANDS
Due to a history of acquisitions, Electrolux today has a large portfolio of brands that enjoy strong positions in their home markets. These brands are trusted by consumers who look for innovation, design and durability at affordable price levels. These brand names include ElectroHelios, Eureka Vacuum Cleaners, Frigidaire, Gibson, Kelvinator, Marijnen, Progress Stutgart, Rosenlew, Simpson, Tornado, Tricity Bendix, Volta, Voss, Westinghouse, Zanker, Zanussi, Husqvarna, Faure, and Zoppas. Some of them appear on their own, while others appear in combination with the Electrolux brand name, and although sometimes Electrolux tries to promote the fact that the brands are part of a large and powerfull group, there is no thought of abandoning the brands and converting everything to a single one. The different brands are very valuable and offer many opportunities of capturing even more market share.
SPECIAL BRANDS
Electrolux enjoys a leading position with professional users in the industries
they serve around the world, such as professional food-service equipment and commercial laundry systems. Electrolux Professional and Zanussi Professional provide an extensive range of professional-grade products and solutions from their major international brands, but in addition they also have a number of specialist brands (such as Dito and Molteni) serving particular demands of professional users.
The Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association (KBSA) was formed in 1978 by a group of independent retailers to improve professionalism within their industry. The KBSA is now a national trade association boasting more than 370 retail members throughout the UK, along with 120 leading brands and distributors as corporate members.
