Turning Real Men Into Appliance Shoppers

Manufacturers are giving a shot of testosterone to fridges and televisions.
By: CHERYL LU-LIEN TAN: The Wall Street Journal Online
Retired pro-football player Jerry Ostroski recently splurged on a hulking piece of steel equipment that he's been showing to his buddies on weekends.

A new workout machine? The latest All-Terrain Vehicle? Actually, a giant freezer/refrigerator. Whirlpool Corp.'s "Freezerator," at $1,099, comes with rugged tread-like pattern on the steel.

Gladiator GarageWorks Freezerator Price: $1,099 Comment: Appliance where the freezer is the larger compartment on the bottom; designed for the garage, with a silver tread-plate finish.

Appliance makers have long targeted men with gear like fire pits and recliner chairs. But now they're giving a hefty shot of testosterone to a broader array of appliances, from fridges to TVs.

The Taiwanese company Hannspree California Inc. has a new line of 10- to 23-inch televisions ($499 to $1,399) that look like baseballs, basketballs and golf balls. The baseball one comes wrapped in Major League-quality horsehide.

Refrigerators don't tend to get men's pulses racing, but appliance manufacturers and retailers are trying to change that. Heartland Appliances Inc. recently introduced a line of fridges for motorcycle enthusiasts that the company's pitch promises will "bring the thrill of the open road into their homes."

The $5,800 to $6,500 Ten50 refrigerators come with black doors that feature huge, Harley-Davidson-style flames. Some have handles that look like motorcycle handlebars and chrome frames that resemble car grilles. (The company is also developing fridges for fishing fans that have doors plastered with the image of a jumping walleyed pike.)

Heartland Appliances Ten50 refrigerator Price: $5,800 to $6,500 Comment: Bikerthemed refrigerators with Harley Davidson-style flames and chrome detailing.

Electrolux AB's Frigidaire brand is selling the "Beverage Center," an $899 stainless-steel fridge that has a spigot on the front and can hold and dispense a 16-gallon keg of beer.

This effort to get men to think beyond grills and pool tables comes as sales of some appliances are leveling off. Unit shipments of combo refrigerator/freezers are expected to increase less than 1% this year after growth rates of 2.8% to 5.8% in each of the past three years, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. And unit shipments of freezers have been fairly flat, hovering at about 2.5 million since 2002.

The good news for manufacturers and retailers is that men are increasingly trying to carve out their own hang-out areas in garages, entertainment rooms and outdoor kitchens. More than a third of new homes being built now have recreation or media rooms, up from less than 10% a decade ago, according to the National Association of Home Builders. At the same time, garages are getting bigger: They're expected to be an average of 22 feet by 22 feet this year, compared with the usual 20-by-20, says Gopal Ahluwalia, the association's director of research.

Marvel Industries Humidrawer Price: $599 Comment: Airtight drawer designed to store cigars; made for installation in Marvel wine refrigerators

Because women are often still the driving forces in most of these purchase decisions, the manly pieces can sometimes be a hard sell. In January, Sears Holding Corp. stopped carrying Maytag's Skybox vending machine-style beverage dispenser for the home. The $499 appliance, which was introduced in August, dispenses cans or bottles of soda and comes with panels that can be customized to display the logo of your favorite sporting team. Sears said it ultimately concluded that the fridge was too much of a niche product after selling fewer than it expected.

But that's not stopping appliance companies from using sports tie-ins to get the attention of the male gender. This fall, Avanti Products, which sells low-price refrigerators and wine cellars, plans to start displaying its refrigerators with huge magnetic or acrylic panels festooned with the logos of Nascar stars or college teams.

Hannspree California baseball TV Price: $539 Comment: TV with 10-inch screen and leather frame with baseball-style stitching

The refrigerators, which are sold at retailers such as Kmart, will come with order forms that homeowners can use to buy the $19.99 to $399 panels. "It'll help make the sale," says Mike Flynn, Avanti's vice president for sales. "And for women, if you don't want the decal, you don't have to order it."

Mr. Ostroski, who played for the Buffalo Bills and now lives in Tulsa, Okla., says he'd never thought much about refrigerators until he saw the "Freezerator," which is part of Whirlpool's Gladiator GarageWorks line, on a TV segment about two months ago. "I thought it was awesome -- there's nothing feminine about it," says Mr. Ostroski, who adds that he had always let his wife pick their appliances. He installed the Freezerator in a part of his garage where he hangs out with his friends to watch TV, drink beer and play videogames.

To reach men like Mr. Ostroski, manufacturers have started tweaking their marketing tactics for these appliances. At the Las Vegas kitchen industry show in May, Electrolux turned a section of its booth into a "men's lounge" complete with a plump leather chair and sports pennants -- a setting designed to show off its Frigidaire keg fridge. And Heartland has been trucking its Harley-Davidson-style refrigerators to bike rallies. "The response from the males is that they want one," says Brad Michael, Heartland's president and CEO. "But the females say, 'you've spent enough money on your bike already.' "