Electrolux is selling its venerable Eureka floor-care brand to China’s Midea Group for an undisclosed sum.
Ola Nilsson, head of Electrolux Small Appliances, said the sale “allows us to focus on our most profitable categories in the U.S. It also allows us to invest in innovation and strategic growth.”
Nonetheless, Nilsson said the U.S. vacuum cleaner market “remains important” for the Swedish majap maker.
Electrolux sold $60 million in Eureka products over the past 12 months.
The manufacturer said it will divest most of its Eureka assets when the transaction closes later this month. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Eureka was founded 107 years ago by onetime auctioneer and vacuum cleaner salesman Fred Wardell. It merged with Williams Oil-O-Matic in 1945, and was acquired by Electrolux in 1974. Its iconic Mighty Mite, a small but powerful canister-style vacuum, was named one of the 10 best designs of the year by Time Magazine in 1982 and remains a top-seller at retail, ranking third in canister vacs at Amazon.
Midea Group is a private, $24 billion kitchen, laundry, AC, floor care, small appliance and HVAC business founded 48 years ago in Guangdong, China. It operates nine strategic business units and over 200 global subsidiaries, and employs more than 100,000 workers worldwide.
Midea America, its $500 million U.S. operation, markets and distributes majaps under its own and licensed brands, and provides OEM services to other vendors. The company is set to open an expanded its R&D center next month in Louisville, Ky.
