![]() The Electrolux wordmark and logo, designed by Prophet in 2015, incorporates the Carlo Vivarelli-designed symbol from 1961. | |
![]() Electrolux headquarters in Stockholm | |
Type | Publicly traded aktiebolag |
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Nasdaq Stockholm: ELUX B | |
ISIN | |
Industry | Home appliances |
Founded | 1919 |
Headquarters | Stockholm, Sweden |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Staffan Bohman (Chairman) Jonas Samuelson (President & CEO) |
Products | Major appliances and small appliances |
Brands | AEG, Electrolux, Electrolux Grand Cuisine, Electrolux Professional, Eureka, Frigidaire, Molteni, Westinghouse, Zanussi. |
Revenue | ![]() |
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Total assets | ![]() |
Total equity | ![]() |
Owner | Investor AB (16.4%; 28.4% votes) [3] |
Number of employees | 51,000 (2022) [3] |
Website | www www |
Electrolux AB (Swedish: [ɛˈlɛ̂kːtrʊˌlɵks, ɛlɛktrʊˈlɵks] ) is a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. [4] It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool. [5]
Electrolux products sell under a variety of brand names (including its own), and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners intended for home consumer use. [6] Electrolux has a primary listing on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the OMX Stockholm 30 index.
The company originates from a merger of two companies—Lux AB and Svenska Elektron AB, the former an established manufacturer and the latter a younger company founded by a former vacuum salesman who had also been an employee of the former firm. [7] The origins of Electrolux are closely tied to the vacuum, but today it also makes major appliances.
Electrolux made an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange in 1928 (it was delisted in 2010) [8] and another on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1930. [9] [10]
As of 2010 [update] its shares trade on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Market and over-the-counter. [11] Electrolux is an OMX Nordic 40 constituent stock.
In 1919, a Svenska Elektron AB acquisition, [7] Elektromekaniska AB, became Elektrolux [12] (the spelling was changed to Electrolux in 1957). [13] It initially sold Lux branded vacuum cleaners in several European countries. [12]
In 1923, the company acquired AB Arctic and subsequently added absorption refrigerators to its product line. [14] [9] Other appliances soon followed, including washing machines in 1951, [15] dishwashers in 1959, [15] and food service equipment in 1962. [16]
The company has often and regularly expanded through mergers and acquisitions.
While Electrolux had bought several companies before the 1960s, that decade saw the beginnings of a new wave of M&A activity. The company bought ElektroHelios, Norwegian Elektra, Danish Atlas, Finnish Slev, and Flymo, et al., in the nine years from 1960 to 1969. [16] It sold its American subsidiary to Consolidated Foods in 1968, exiting the American market until 1974, when Electrolux acquired Eureka-Williams from National Union, one of the oldest names in the vacuum cleaner industry. Electrolux sold its vacuum cleaners using the Eureka brand name in North America until 2004. [17]
This style of growth continued through the 1990s, seeing Electrolux purchase scores [18] of companies including, for a time, Husqvarna. [18] [19]
Hans Werthen, President and later chairman of the board, led the strategic core of an increasingly decentralized Electrolux—and was instrumental to its rapid growth.
While attempts to cut costs, centralise administration, and wring out economies of scale from Electrolux's operations were made in the 1960s and 1970s [16] [18] with the focus so firmly on growth, [18] further company-wide restructuring efforts only began in the late 1990s. [20]
In North America, the Electrolux name was long used by vacuum cleaner manufacturer Aerus LLC, originally established to sell Swedish Electrolux products. In 2000, Aerus transferred trademark rights back to the Electrolux Group, and ceased using the Electrolux name in 2004. [21]
Conversely, Electrolux-made vacuums carried the Eureka brand name, which Electrolux continued to use while also selling Electrolux branded vacuums after 2000. Electrolux USA customer service maintains a database of Electrolux made vacuums and provides a link to Aerus's website for the convenience of owners of Electrolux branded Aerus vacuums. [22]
Keith McLoughlin took over as president and CEO on January 1, 2011, and became the company's first non Swedish chief executive.
In August 2011, Electrolux acquired from Sigdo Koppers the Chilean appliance manufacturer CTI obtaining several brands with the purchase including: Fensa, Gafa, Mademsa and Somela. [23]
On February 6, 2017, Electrolux announced that it had agreed to acquire Anova Applied Electronics, Inc., [24] the U.S.-based provider of the Anova Precision Cooker. [25] [26]
On March 23, 2020, Electrolux completed the spin-off of its professional division, which the separated company incorporated as Electrolux Professional AB. [27]
Electrolux sells under a wide variety of brand names worldwide. Most of them were acquired through mergers and acquisitions and only do business in a single country or geographic area. The following is an incomplete list.
Note: This list does not include brands such as Kenmore, IKEA and John Lewis, which may sell Electrolux produced appliances but are not owned by or affiliated with Electrolux, as Electrolux acts as an OEM for these brands.
The company's international slogan is "Shape living for the better". In the past it was "Thinking of you". [60]
In the 1960s the company successfully marketed vacuums in the United Kingdom with the slogan "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux". [61] In the United States, it was frequently assumed that using this slogan was a brand blunder. In fact, the informal American meaning of the word sucks was already well known at the time in the United Kingdom, and the company hoped the slogan, with its possible double entendre, would gain attention. [62]
In Indonesia, the Electrolux previous slogan was "Kalau saja semua seawet Electrolux" (English: If only all durable as Electrolux).[ citation needed ]
Investor AB is a Swedish investment and de facto conglomerate holding company. It was founded in 1916 and is still controlled by the Wallenberg family through their Foundation Asset Management company FAM. The company owns a controlling stake in several large Swedish companies, with smaller positions in a number of other firms.
The Hoover Company is a home appliance company founded in Ohio, United States. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom; and, mostly in the 20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the Hoover brand name became synonymous with vacuum cleaners and vacuuming in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Hoover North America was once part of Maytag, but was sold by Maytag's new owners Whirlpool Corporation in 2007 to Hong Kong multinational manufacturing company Techtronic Industries for $107 million. Hoover International had already split from Hoover North America in 1993, and was acquired by Candy in 1995, which was acquired by Haier in 2019.
Tappan is a brand of appliances, named after company founder W. J. Tappan.
White-Westinghouse is an American home appliance brand used under license by trademark owner Westinghouse Licensing Corporation. It was created in 1975 when White Consolidated Industries bought the Westinghouse Electric Corporation's major appliance business. White Consolidated Industries was in turn acquired by Electrolux in 1986.
Kelvinator was an American home appliance manufacturer and a line of domestic refrigerators that was the namesake of the company. Although as a company it is now defunct, the name still exists as a brand name owned by Electrolux AB. It takes its name from William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, who developed the concept of absolute zero and for whom the Kelvin temperature scale is named. The name was thought appropriate for a company that manufactured ice-boxes and refrigerators.
Arçelik A.Ş. is a Turkish multinational household appliances manufacturer which owns Beko and Grundig.
Eureka Forbes Limited is an Indian multinational home appliances company based in Mumbai. It makes water purification devices, vacuum cleaners, air purification systems, and home security products.
Aerus LLC, formerly Electrolux Corp. USA, manufactures air and surface purifiers, water filtration and treatment systems, and vacuum cleaners. It is headquartered in Bristol, Virginia and has over 500 independently owned franchises in the U.S. and Canada. Aerus is the successor to Electrolux USA, the iconic manufacturer of vacuum cleaners. However, the Electrolux name is now used in the U.S. by the Electrolux Group of Sweden, which until 2016 also manufactured Eureka vacuum cleaners.
GE Appliances is an American home appliance manufacturer based in Louisville, Kentucky. It has been majority owned by Chinese multinational home appliances company Haier since 2016. It is one of the largest appliance companies in the United States and manufactures appliances under several brands, including GE, GE Profile, Café, Monogram, Haier and Hotpoint. The company also owns FirstBuild, a co-creation community and micro-factory on the University of Louisville's campus in Louisville, Kentucky. Another FirstBuild location is in South Korea, and a FirstBuild location in India opened its doors in 2019.
The Husqvarna Group is a Swedish manufacturer of outdoor power products including robotic lawn mowers, chainsaws, trimmers, brushcutters, cultivators, and garden tractors. Founded as a firearms manufacturer in 1689, it is one of the oldest continuously running companies in the world. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, the group also produces consumer watering products under the brand Gardena, cutting equipment and diamond tools for the construction and stone industries.
Eureka is a brand of the Chinese company Midea Group that manufactures vacuums for all households. The company manufactures vacuum cleaners, including uprights, cordless, canisters, sticks and handhelds. Eureka also manufactures aftermarket vacuum accessories, such as bags, belts and filters.
Electrolux can refer to:
Bork is a manufacturer of home appliances, trading in Russia, CIS countries, and Poland. It is a significant producer of household appliances; in Russia particularly, its share of the Russian market of home juicers in 2009 was estimated at 30-40%. Registered as a German company, Bork operates mostly in Moscow, Russia. The company outsources manufacturing in Hungary, Germany, South Korea, China, Italy and France.
Midea Group is a Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Beijiao town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong and listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange. As of 2021, the firm employs approximately 150,000 people in China and overseas with 200 subsidiaries and over 60 overseas branches. Midea Group is listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2013. It has been listed on the Fortune Global 500 since July 2016. Midea produces lighting, water appliances, floor care, small kitchen appliances, laundry, large cooking appliances, and refrigeration appliances. It is the largest microwave oven manufacturer, and acts an OEM for many brands. It also has a long history in producing home and commercial products in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). It is the world's largest producer of robots and appliances.
Hans Straberg is the Chairman of Atlas Copco and SKF. He was the President & CEO of Electrolux AB from 2002 to 2010. Straberg is also a Bilderberg participant.
Kenmore is an American brand of household appliances owned and licensed by Transformco, an affiliate of ESL Investments.
Anova Culinary is a San Francisco-based smart kitchen company that provides connected cooking appliances, such as sous-vide devices, combi-ovens, and vacuum sealers for the home cook. In 2014, the company introduced the first Bluetooth-enabled sous vide cooking device, the Anova Precision Cooker, followed by a Wi-Fi-enabled version in 2015.
SharkNinja is a Chinese manufacturer of small appliances based in Hangzhou., The company's name is formed by combining its two primary brands: Shark, which mainly produces vacuum cleaners and similar devices; and Ninja, which focuses on kitchen appliances such as blenders, multicookers, air fryers, and coffee makers.
Electrolux Professional AB is a Swedish multinational professional appliance manufacturing company, headquartered in Stockholm. Originally formed as a division and later subsidiary of Electrolux, it was spun-off in March 2020. It produces a variety of products intended for professional consumers, while Electrolux remains more focused toward home consumers.