The Home Appliance sales team can help plan and stock the high-end appliances, beautiful textured finishes in well-planned workspaces, that are hallmarks of today’s kitchens.

By MAREN JAMES
Point to a machine in your kitchen you’d like to replace or revive, and Home Appliance Sales and Service will have a suggestion for you. With locations in Avon Lake, Brunswick and Lodi, Ohio, Home Appliance is a local leading seller and servicer of major appliances from refrigerators and freezers, stoves, ranges, ice makers, even dishwashers and washers/dryers, right down to the disposal under the sink. Founded in 1962 and owned by Beth and Brian Grayson for the past 30 years, the retailer has 50 employees focusing on sales and service, and working with you to create the kitchen of your dreams. (OK, outdoor kitchens too, as they sell grills as well.)

Home Appliance Sales and Service offers over two dozen vignettes at their Avon showroom to help buyers visualize the kitchen of their dreams.

From Amana to Zline and most appliance manufacturers in between – from Bluestar and Bosch, Thermador, Viking and Wolf, Frigidaire, Maytag, KitchenAid and LG, to Weber and Whirlpool, even Napoleon and Mont Alpi, the staff at Home Appliance is knowledgeable, and more – insightful about what you want, and what to look for when replacing, adding on or renovating your kitchen.
Dan Edwards has been the marketing manager for Home Appliance for more than eight years. He describes how buyers can consider various brands, and tiers within brands. “Think of Toyota,” he says. “At one end there’s Camry and at the other there’s Lexus. It’s the same with appliances. In our business, GE for example, makes Hotpoint, a starter brand that’s super-simple for a washer, dryer or fridge. They have their own GE line, and GE Café which has an industrial look, and the sister brand GE Profile – all the same guts but different aesthetics. And then there’s the top of the line for GE, and that’s Monogram.”
Part of the market for the highest end comes from tech-savvy Millennials who want Wi-Fi-ready appliances, so they can communicate with their kitchen systems by phone app. By what now? Apps can direct an oven to preheat. Apps can send a signal to your phone telling you the washer has finished its cycle. “Soon we’ll have systems that can wash, dry and fold” Edwards says. “The top of the market has exploded, as people want more and more out of their appliances.”

Mix and match styles and colors from white on white to stainless, upscale, industrial and more appliances that are available at Home Appliance’ three locations.

Edwards describes the company’s three showrooms, all a little different from each other. The Avon location has the most on display. There are two dozen kitchen vignettes, many of them ‘live,’ so buyers can browse and turn items on. The company has a chef on staff and at Avon hosts cooking demonstrations, classes and events. Brunswick and Lodi have smaller showrooms and all three locations have a scratch and dent section, with Lodi having the most of these models, sometimes a good solution for anyone on a tighter budget.
For anyone dreaming of kitchen renovation or upscaling, Edwards does mention one industry-wide wrinkle in the process that Home Appliance cannot control, and that’s the supply chain. “The pandemic has put a cramp in the industry in terms of products not being available. Manufacturers here had to wait for parts from China, which was shut down, then China was up and running but factories here were shut down. At this point there’s a backlog of orders to fill, and the wait time is six to eight months. This is where our sales knowledge comes in,” Edwards says. “You can have the appliance you want if you’re patient and can wait six months, or we can show you something similar or the same machine but in a different color that you can have sooner.” He anticipates the delays will continue through the end of 2021, across the industry.
“Our business has never been better from a sales and volume aspect,” Edwards says. “People staying at home more realize it’s time to fix or remodel their white/beige kitchen. They might have money saved up for a trip they can’t take so they go with Plan B, fix up the house. We are more unique than the big box stores because we have service, extended warranties and deals with the manufacturers,” he adds. “We have big buying power and opportunities that other companies around us can’t offer, and this gives a big advantage to our customers.”
Home Appliance works with home owners, renovators, designers, residential and commercial builders and apartment complexes. The independently owned and operated business is a member of NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry) and NKBA (the National Kitchen and Bath Association). More information is available online at yourhomeappliance.com.