Cuisinart Corporation is a well-known manufacturer of small kitchen appliances. Best known for its food processors, Cuisinart established this home appliance as a market segment in its own right. The company eventually expanded its product line to include coffee makers, hand blenders, hand mixers, and toasters, among other housewares. Whatever the kitchen convenience, the Cuisinart brand has been equated with quality construction and top-of-the-line pricing. Around 1983, Kitchen Aid introduced a direct competitor to the Cuisinart food processor--a high-priced food processor manufactured by Robot-Coupe. In response, Cuisinart instituted a trade-in allowance on its food processors to encourage existing food processor owners to upgrade their equipment. Consumers were allowed up to $66 in credit toward the purchase of a newer, more advanced Cuisinart model when they returned their older models. Soon the company accepted any brand of food processor for credit when upgrading to a new Cuisinart model. The following year, Sunbeam debuted the Oskar food processor. At half the size of a Cuisinart, the little machine cost a mere $60, about $165 less than a Cuisinart. By 1985, Sunbeam sold 700000 Oskars, commanding 25 percent of the market. (The previous year, Cuisinart controlled 20 percent of the market.) Cuisinart is one of those household names. Just about everyone knows it. Many, many people own these fine kitchen appliances, but few know the origin of the company ... and its ...
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