THE HOOVER COMPANY AND THE FREE FLIGHTS PROMOTION

CAMPAIGN

Hoover in the United States and Europe

The Hoover Company started out as an American floor care manufacturer

based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United

Kingdom $($UK$)$ and for most of the early$-$and$-$mid$-20$th century dominated

the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "Hoover" brand

name became synonymous with vacuum cleaners. Housewives would often

indicate to each other that they were $$hoovering$$ as a synonym for

vacuuming the carpet.

The Hoover Company in the United States was part of the Whirlpool

Corporation until it was sold in $2006$ to Techtronic Industries $($TTI$)$ for $$107$

million. The addition of the iconic Hoover brand to TTI$$s portfolio created

the largest floor care company in North America.

Prior to $2006,$ TTI$$s principal areas of business were power tools, outdoor

power equipment, solar$-$powered lighting and electronic measuring

products. This industry giant is headquartered in Hong Kong, but maintains

a customer servicing network in North America, Europe and Australia, and

currently employs more than $23,000$ people worldwide. TTI Floor Care

North America is now dedicated to becoming an industry leader in every

floor care category.

Hoover UK$/$Europe split from Hoover U$.$S$.$ in $1993$ and was acquired by

Candy, a company based in f$,$ Italy. The Candy Group sells washing

machines, refrigerators and floor care products under the Hoover brand

name across Europe. Hoover is particularly well known for its washing

machines and tumble dryers in the UK and Ireland and, also has significant

and increasing sales in many parts of Europe. Today, the Hoover brand

remains a major player in the European floor care sectors in a number of

countries.

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The History

The Hoover story began in $1907.$ Murray Spangler, an inventor who worked

nights as a janitor, had an asthma problem. He called upon his inventor's

creativity to find a solution to the dust that aggravated his asthma as he

swept up at night.

Spangler gathered a tin soap box, a fan, a sateen pillowcase and a broom

handle, and assembled an odd$-$looking, cumbersome contraption that

managed to pull the dust away from the air he breathed. He quickly realized

that this "suction sweeper," as he called it$,$ had enormous sales potential, and

he began seeking financial backing.

W$.$H$.$ "Boss" Hoover, owner of a leather goods manufacturing shop, bought

the patent from Spangler in $1908,$ retained him as a partner, and soon had

six employees assembling six units a day in a corner of the leather goods

shop.

$$Boss$$ Hoover placed a small ad in the Saturday Evening Post offering $10$

days$$ free use of a Hoover suction sweeper to anyone who wrote and

requested it$.$ Instead of sending the cleaner directly to the potential

customer, he chose a reputable store in each city that customers could

purchase from. He allowed store managers to keep any commission from a

resulting sale, and then offered the store the opportunity to become a Hoover

vacuum dealer. This laid the groundwork for a national dealer network

which, to this day, continues to be an important channel of distribution for

Hoover products.

Meanwhile, engineers were designing new and improved methods of

cleaning carpet. One of their most noteworthy innovations was the beater

bar, introduced in $1926,$ which was the basis for one of the most memorable

advertising slogans in history: $"$It beats, as it sweeps, as it cleans." Aided by

strong suction, the metal bar gently tapped the carpet to loosen deeply

embedded dirt, as a bristle brush rapidly swept dirt up and out of the carpet.

Since then, the beater bar has gone through many tweaks and refinements

and is still utilized in most Hoover vacuum cleaners today.

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Countless other "firsts" have been developed by Hoover engineers over the

years to give consumers the most innovative and convenient features

available. In $1929,$ Hoover introduced the Model $200$ Duster. This would be

their first attempt at a cylindrical cleaner. $1930$ saw the introduction of the

world's first handheld vacuum cleaner, the Hoover Dustette. The good

design and exceptional durability of these machines mean many are still in

service today, some at over $80$ years old.

In $1932,$ Hoover introduced a new feature $-$ an optional headlamp, called the

Hoover Hedlite, on Models $425,750$ and $900.$ The Hoover Hedlite

illuminated the floor ahead of the cleaner, useful for dimly lit rooms and

corridors, and under furniture. This feature brought in several new slogans,

including $\text{'}$It shows you the dirt you never knew you had!$\text{'},$ and $\text{'}$It lights

where it's going...it's clean where it's gone$$

$.$

In $1936,$ Hoover unveiled the Model $150,$ "the first basically new cleaner in

ten years", which was the most modern machine of its time. It included such

innovations as a time to empty bag indicator; automatic height adjustment;

a magnesium body, which made it weigh less than previous models; instant

tool conversion; and a two$-$speed motor.

From $1941$ to