Frigidaire Shipping Overhauled Gallery, Professional Platforms

By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 10/12/2009

AUGUSTA, GA. — The largest launch in Frigidaire brand history continues its weeks-long rollout to national and independent dealers this month.

The undertaking, which was years in the making, includes a sweeping overhaul of the brand's midtier Gallery line and step-up Professional platform, as well as a new marketing push featuring celebrity spokeswoman Jennifer Garner, a charitable cause (Save the Children) and an updated logo.

The effort follows a similar strategy employed last year by Frigidaire's upmarket sister brand Electrolux. That division introduced 130 new products, including a premium platform promoted by TV personality Kelly Ripa, with a tie-in to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

The latest introduction is nearly twice as large with some 250 new products, and completely changed out the Gallery and Professional lines, Frigidaire general manager Marty O'Gorman told TWICE. The balance of the brand assortment will similarly be swapped out, he said.

New products includes freestanding and built-in gas, electric and duel fuel ranges; wall ovens; gas and electric cooktops; warming drawers; built-in and over-the-range microwaves; counter-depth and standard-depth refrigerators; freezers; dishwashers; and laundry, including a new red tone for the Affinity series.

The new line continues to stress Frigidaire's value positioning — critical in the current economic environment, O'Gorman said — as well as product reliability, assured by the brand's 100-year heritage and rigorous lifetime testing.

Time-saving features with uncomplicated interfaces are another focus of the relaunch, based on feedback from harried moms, while the line's enhanced energy efficiency will help save money and the environment amid tighter federal requirements.

The line also features a clean, sleek, streamlined aesthetic as reflected in the updated logo, where the old script type has been replaced with a block face and contemporary color scheme.

Time-saving features include one-touch oven buttons with preprogrammed cooking times for such foods as chicken nuggets and pizza, and the ability to time laundry cycles so that the washer and dryer complete their loads concurrently. In addition:

• oven and ranges heat faster;

• freezers freeze food and make ice more quickly; and

• dishwashers run more quietly, clean dinnerware faster and dry them more thoroughly.

To help promote the revamped line, Frigidaire has enlisted actress Jennifer Garner as brand ambassador, and has made a $250,000 commitment to Save the Children's U.S. Programs. The final donation will based in part on the number of visitors to Frigidaire.com who pledge to make time for a child (a dollar will be donated for each, up to a maximum of $50,000), and by the number of Professional-series double wall ovens purchased between Oct. 4 and Dec. 31 ($100 will be donated for each, up to a maximum of $100,000).