Make your choice at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center

When it's time to shop for appliances, choosing the right brand is an important part of the decision process. In spite of what you may have heard, they're not all made by just a few manufacturers. To sort this out let's first discuss the big brand names. GE, Whirlpool, and Frigidaire are the big 3. These are mega companies, home to a host of other name brands as listed below:

General Electric

• Hotpoint
• GE
• GE Profile
• GE Cafe
• GE Monogram

Whirlpool

• Amana
• Whirlpool
• Maytag
• KitchenAid
• Jenn-Air

Frigidaire

• Frigidaire
• Electrolux (Parent company)
• Electrolux Icon

At the luxury end of the market some of the big names include Wolf SubZero, Viking, Thermador, and Miele. While all the brands referred to above are well-known and well-positioned in their market segments, there are other lesser-known brands that deserve consideration as well. Here are just 2 examples:

1. BlueStar

BlueStar is a brand of high-end cooking products – ranges, oven, and cooktops. The brand is focused on serving the consumer that wants restaurant style appliances for the home. A unique capability of BlueStar is the ability to customize your range. Over 190 colors are available and burners may be configured to your liking. Even though BlueStar is not a household name, their factory in Reading, PA. has been building stoves since 1880.

2. Speed Queen

Speed Queen is a laundry company headquartered in Ripon, Wisconsin. They are a leading manufacturer of washers and dryers in the coin laundry/laundromat industry. Laundry equipment is the only thing Speed Queen makes, and they provide an exclusive three year warranty on their washers and dryers made for your home. Like BlueStar, they may not be a well-known name to consumers, but they've been making washers in Ripon, Wisc. since 1908.

Certainly, it can get confusing when comparing the big name brands to the specialty manufacturers. A good idea would be to seek the advice of appliance specialists such as those at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center.

Two locations to serve you – Calabasas and Studio City:

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center

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1. Yellow Pages. Seriously? Do they still have these?
2. Newspaper. Ditto. Well, OK they're still around, but don't hold your breath.
3. Here's an idea! Go to Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center (UAKC). There's a Grand Opening going on at their new Calabasas Location and they're also celebrating at the Studio City location.

UAKC Showroom Locations

Now with two stores, they've got you covered. The same great selection, service, and low prices. So if you're coming from Moorpark or Thousand Oaks, Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center (UAKC) is just a short drive away. Even from Oxnard or Camarillo, UAKC in Calabasas is the place for you to shop for new appliances. And if you're in Agoura Hills, Northridge, or Woodland Hills…Calabasas says…howdy neighbor!

For all of our friends in Beverly Hills, Burbank, or the Hollywood area we still have the same great location in Studio City at the corner of Ventura and Laurel Canyon Boulevards.

Here's a sneak peak at the beautiful display in their new Calabasas showroom.

For prices, UAKC not only has all the factory rebates (see below), we have a terrific clearance center*. Here are a few examples.

Frigidaire Professional 27″ Double Wall Oven, Stainless Steel
FPET2785KF reg. $3,049.00 you save $1400, now $1649

Electrolux 36″ French Door Refrigerator 27 cu. ft., Stainless Steel
E127BS26JS reg. $2999.00 you save $800, now $2199

Bosch 24″ Dishwasher with recessed handle, Stainless Steel
SHE7ER55UC reg. $1479 you save $280, now $1199

*clearance center prices limited to stock on hand and subject to previous sale.

Factory Rebates

Electrolux It All Adds Up
Get up to $500 back With the purchase of an Electrolux refrigerator and select Electrolux Appliances.
Valid from 10/01/12 to 12/29/12

Electrolux ICON
Get up to $1000 back on select kitchen appliances
For a limited time, purchase 4 appliances and receive a $1000 American Express Reward Card, purchase 3 appliances and receive an $800 American Express Reward Card.
Valid from 10/01/12 to 12/29/12

GE Monogram Luxury Has Its Rewards Promotion
$2000 sell-through allowance for purchaser instant rebate!
Valid from 10/01/12 to 03/31/13

Sub-Zero Your Dream Kitchen Rebate!
Get up to $2,500 cash back when you purchase a Sub-Zero kitchen package.
Valid from 04/01/10 to 03/31/13

These are just a few of the many rebates available. For a complete list please click on the link below:

REBATES

Hurry in this weekend for great rebates, clearance center closeouts, grand opening specials, and the best selection and service on major appliances or plumbing fixtures. Call or visit the experts at UAKC.

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center

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It's going on now, and we've already blogged about it, but we need to remind you that there are also many factory promotions now underway at UAKC. The Columbus Day Sale would be a great time to take advantage of these rebates and special offers as many of them are ending soon. Here are a few really outstanding savings that are available now:

You can save up to $4040 on luxury Jenn-Air appliances during this offer. Offer includes free dishwasher and free ventilation system or underdounter appliance for qualifying purchases.

Instant Savings on Viking Professional Series appliances.

Instant savings on Viking D3 appliances up to $800 total.

Purchase 4 Electrolux Icon appliances and get a $1000 AMEX reward card.

Save up to $500 on the purchase of select GE Profile or GE Cafe appliances.

KitchenAid offers savings of up to $1000 on select KitchenAid appliances.

Click on link below to go to our previous blog with other Columbus Day Sale offers:

UAKC Columbus Day Sale

Call or visit the experts at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center today:

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center

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Having just finished the 4th of July holiday season with all the attending appliance sale events, it should be noted that at least one of the big box stores – the guys who wear orange aprons – had a newspaper tab with a patriotic theme, Red, White, and Blue sale featuring a Korean appliance brand.

It might be interesting and worthwhile to look at the landscape of appliance brands and manufacturing to identify the brands by nationality and by where they are manufactured. In other words, which brands are “American” brands and what is manufactured in the U.S. By the way, we mean “made” or “manufactured” to also include assembly. Most manufacturing facilities today are primarily assembly factories where parts are attached to a chassis.

American brands of major appliances include Whirlpool and GE as full-line manufacturers. Whirlpool is the largest appliance manufacturer in the world though over half their sales are in the U.S. Their headquarters are in the U.S. and they are listed on the U.S. stock exchange. Whirlpool also makes and sells U.S. appliances under these brand names: Amana, Jenn-Air, KitchenAid, and Maytag. They claim that over 80% of the appliances they sell in the U.S. are made in the U.S.

Though listed on the U.S. stock exchange, GE is a true multi-national, doing business all over the world making and selling everything from jet engines, to nuclear power plants, to major appliances. They are much less of a factor in world wide appliance sales than in the U.S. GE outsources to other manufacturers and does joint ventures for quite a few of their U.S. appliances. They have recently expanded their U.S. production and have begun making new french door refrigerators at their Appliance Park facility in Louisville, Ky. Estimates are about 50% of its U.S. appliance sales are manufactured in the U.S.

Electrolux is the second largest appliance manufacturer in the World. Headquartered in Sweden and listed on the Swedish stock exchange, they sell in the U.S. primarily under the brand names Electrolux, Frigidaire, and Icon. They have recently closed a couple of U.S. facilities. Though they still have several factories in the U.S. they also bring in major appliances from Mexico, Asia, and Europe.

BSH is a German held company (Bosch – Siemens). They sell appliances in the U.S. under the brand names Bosch, Gaggenau, and Thermador. Some are made in the U.S.

The above list covers the “Big 4″ (Whirlpool, GE, Electrolux, BSH) of full line major appliance companies selling in the U.S. We should probably add the Korean firms, Samsung and LG (Lucky-Goldstar) to the list. Most of the Samsung and LG products sold in the U.S. are built in Korea.

The balance of US appliance sales are from companies that are niche or not full-line. Viking Ranges, Sub-Zero Wolf, and Dacor are stalwart high-end U.S. brands that also manufacture nearly all of the products in the U.S. There are many specialty U.S. manufacturers such as Scotsman, U-line, Marvel, and others. Haier is a Chinese brand that sells some low priced appliances made in China.

If you are interested in finding out more about major appliances call or visit the experts at:

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center
12025 Ventura Blvd. Ste B-105
Studio City, CA 91604
PH 877 696-2987
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