By Patrick Avenell

SYDNEY, NSW: Hoover Floorcare, the brand that lent its name to actual vacuuming process, has this morning launched its new Airvolution range of bagless vacuum cleaners for the spring cleaning and Christmas seasons. Due in stores within the next week, the new range comprises one barrel, one stick and two upright vacuum cleaners.

The marquee product in this range is the Slalom (SL8123, RRP $599). This upright model features active steering for enhanced manoeuvrability, a Pets Mini turbo brush and dusting brush, an on/off brushbar to clean all surfaces, including hard floors, transparent window to check brush rotation, handle park for storage, extra long hose for stair cleaning, rubber bumper to protect the furniture and edge-to-edge cleaning.

The other upright in the new range is the Freedom (FR7183, RRP $499). This model has an explorer lance for extra reach, mini turbo tool and dusting brush, carpet height selector and a two position lock pedal.

At the same price point as the Freedom is the Xarion all surface barrel vacuum (TAV1630, RRP $499). This model has a 1,600-watt maximum power, 1.5-litre dust bin capacity, soft rubber wheels, turbo brush for carpets and miniturbo for sofas and pet hair, navigator handle with suction control and washable HEPA.

The new Hoover stick vac on the market is the Freejet (FJ120 I2, RRP $199). This models has 12 volts of maximum power and has a 20-minute usage time per charge. The 3-in-1 functionality allows for hardfloor, carpet and handheld vacuuming. A good feature of this model is its stand alone parking position, which means the vacuum can rest upright on a flat surface. This is a move forward from other stick vac models that can only stand upright when docked to the charging station.

Talking about Hoover’s message to retailers this floorcare season is director Damian Court.

“Our message to retailers is a fundamental one: with educated staff, you have an opportunity to easily sell people up the range in vacuum cleaners because there’s a lot of great features from a normal combo brush to a turbo brush to a power brush,” Court said.

“You’ve got great features that, and if you’re communicating with customers confidently about the features, there’s no reason why you can’t squeeze and extra $50, $100, $150 out of every purchase.”