Maytag Drops Its Accellis 5XP Oven
Staff -- TWICE, 2/26/2001
NEWTON, IOWA -Maytag has pulled the plug on its top-of-the-line Jenn-Air Accellis 5XP wall oven, citing stiff consumer resistance to its $3,500 price tag.
The unit, like its more affordable Maytag cousin, the $1,300 Accellis 2X range, uses radiant heat and microwave energy to cook food in up to half the time of traditional ovens.
The majap maker said it determined after several months of testing that the high-end model would fail to produce sufficient volume and margins, but that it would continue to market the Accellis 2X. The 5XP was launched last year.
"We are disappointed by Maytag's decision not to continue with the Jenn-Air Accellis 5XP rollout," said Jeffrey Bogatin, chairman of New York-based TurboChef Technologies, which licenses its rapid-cook platform to Maytag.
Bogatin said his company has developed a next-generation oven that's larger and cooks faster than the 5XP, and can retail for about half the price. Maytag's period of exclusivity to the Accellis technology has expired for residential applications.
