Electrolux USA Review and Profile

Electrolux USA no longer appears to be active as a direct sales company.

Electrolux USA was a major door-to-door direct-selling company, but it was not a conventional MLM. The historic North American vacuum business became Aerus, while ElectroluxUSA.com now belongs to the separate Swedish Electrolux appliance group.

Original Npros business profile for Electrolux USA, preserved below for archival purposes:

Electrolux Corporation USA was established in 1924 by Gustaf Sahlin to introduce Electrolux tank-style vacuum cleaners to the American market. The company initially imported machines from Sweden and later established domestic manufacturing, opening a factory in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1933. Its best-known product, the Electrolux Model XXX canister vacuum, was introduced in 1937, remained in production until 1954, and sold nearly 14 million units.

The North American company eventually became operationally separate from the Swedish Electrolux organization. Consolidated Foods Corporation, later known as Sara Lee Corporation, acquired Electrolux's North American business in 1968. Manufacturing was subsequently consolidated at the company's Bristol, Virginia, facility, which became its principal production location.

Electrolux USA was built around person-to-person direct selling. Sales representatives demonstrated vacuum cleaners inside customers' homes, accepted orders, and provided continuing service, replacement bags, parts, and repairs through local branches. The company later added carpet-care equipment, water-treatment systems, air purifiers, and other home-environment products. Its Purelux water-purification line was introduced in 1989. The business used commissioned sales representatives and local sales offices, but no evidence was identified that its traditional compensation model paid representatives through multiple recruited levels. Electrolux USA therefore operated as a direct-sales company rather than a conventional multilevel-marketing organization.

In 1998, an investment group led by Joseph Urso purchased Electrolux North America. On May 8, 2000, Sweden's Electrolux Group announced an agreement to acquire the North American Electrolux company name and trademark rights for $50 million. The American direct-sales company retained limited rights to use the Electrolux name on vacuum cleaners and replacement parts during a transition period but began rebranding as Aerus. The Electrolux name was removed from its new products by 2004.

Between 2001 and 2003, Aerus converted its company-operated local offices into independently owned franchises and shifted the corporate organization toward manufacturing, product development, and franchise support. Aerus expanded beyond floor care into air purification, water filtration, surface treatment, and other healthy-home products. The company currently states that it distributes through more than 500 locations in the United States and Canada, supported by franchise owners and direct-sales representatives.