Diva De Provence Exiting Induction and Most of Appliance Business: EXCLUSIVE
Submitted by advisor on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 4:38pm.
Diva de Provence, a tiny appliance brand with a once big footprint, is exiting the mass market appliance business except for the custom-built French styled ranges Diva first started business with 10 years ago. This would mean the end of its induction lines of cooktops and ranges, a technology that Diva had single handedly re-introduced to North America.
This is particularly surprising considering that Diva once sold thousands of induction units each year. Diva complains that the reason for the pull out is predatory pricing by Diva’s induction supplier Brandt. Brandt, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fagor is, Diva contends, selling the identical product to Fagor for 40% less than they will sell to Diva. Diva refused to pay the difference. Brandt threatened to stop delivery, with the result that Diva is exiting the business.
Sources tell us that Diva has been shrinking for years with the elimination of an iconic sales person, innovative induction ranges which, because of its high cost and price, has failed to meet anything near forecast and significant competitive pressure with the entry of Viking, GE, Wolf, Thermador, Heartland, Windcrest, Elmira, Fagor, Dacor, (everybody really) into the induction segment.
Diva will continue selling existing inventory. Will continue to sell induction in Canada to the extent there is demand which warrants it. Will honor all warranty issues for all its products.
Unfortunate Message ...
DIVA has become the victim of a backstabbing OEM ... and ... the inability of the Appliance Industry to disseminate the tremendously positive aspects of Induction Cooking ...
1. Induction is an extremely energy efficient way to cook !!! Where have all the "GREENies" gone ???
2. Induction is a very safe (kid friendly) appliance since the cooktop never heats up, so it is significantly less of a burn hazard ... certainly when considering severe burns !!!
So, only the big, well established - Pro-Style manufacturers will be able to sell Induction, since only an Appliance Dealer able to sell Pro-Style will be able to sell the concept of Induction ... which takes more than the average $299 Dishwasher salesman !!!
There's another thing that has hurt Induction ... the manufacturers who thought it a good idea to offer "hybrid" units !!! Can someone please tell me why is a good idea ??? If you have the consummate way to cook, why would you offer a combination with the inferior way ???
RIP, DIVA ... I'll always remember you were my first experience with an exciting technology !!!
Selling Induction
Bob ... you're right about Induction, it is a very efficient (and responsive) element for a cooktop. It's been on the market for years (long before energy efficency) was a hot-button issue. Westinghouse introduced a unit (CT2) in 1973. Sears had one on the shelf in the mid-80's. But selling Induction always presented the salesman with three challenges.
(1) Until recently, Induction tops all had shared power, meaning that the cook couldn't operate all burners at full power at the same time.
(2) Compared to other cooking surfaces, Induction was incredibly expensive, so selling it was always a challenge, especially in an era when "cool-top" was the main selling benefit.
(3) When the salesman finally overcame objectons number 1 and 2, he had to inform the customer that they'd have to get rid of their expensive copper-bottom cookware and replace it with ferrous metal (magnetic) flat bottom cookware.
I'm sure that the manufacturers of "hybrid units" that you referrd to are trying to address all three concerns at one time. Hope this helps.
(I appologize in advance if the paragraphs don't separate in this posting. It's been a while since you taught me how to do it and I think I have forgotten. We'll see)
Right you are !!!
As usual, Cohiba, your insight is certainly correct and priceless, since there is no "official" encyclopedia of the history of appliances !!!
Your point is well taken about the difficulty of selling Induction ... that's why I said that only most experienced and well-trained Pro-Style Sales Associates would be able to sell Induction ... and even with that, the Associate has to buy into the technology in order to vociferously sell it !!!
I continue to be curious as you why the "Greenies" have not embrace such an obvious energy saving appliance ...
PS: Your posting looks OK to me !!!
i couldn't agree more
I was first exposed to induction 25 years ago by Roden. One of our dealers did a demo with a paper towel beneath a pot to show the low temp generated and i was amazed at how fast it was. Fast forward 20 years and I am amazed at what a tough sell it is. Bob, you are correct in saying that induction will only succeed at the an Appliance Dealer. My next range will be a Viking Induction. It is the cats ass. As for hybrids, I am sure that the concept was created help sell the principle of induction to the product management teams at the Big 5 who have trouble envisioning a cooktop over $999.
Do it quick ...
Well, Rllingstne ... if you're sold on the Viking, you might be interested to know that their single table-top Induction unit was rated BEST by America's Test Kitchens this past weekend ... but ... rated 2nd due to the exorbitant cost ...
One more thing ... maybe you ought to accelerate your plans to by a Viking while Viking is STILL Viking !!!