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WE ARE NOT THE SUPPLIER OF THIS PRODUCT. WE ARE AN INDEPENDENT MEDIA TITLE. PLEASE FOLLOW THE STEPS OUTLINED BELOW TO CONTACT SHARK’S AUSTRALIAN SUPPLIER.
Almost five weeks after Appliance Retailer first revealed that authorised distributor Brand Developers had discovered major faults in two Shark Navigator vacuum cleaners, the wholesaler has enacted an official product recall and, for the first time, revealed the inherent vice in these appliances.
Appliance Retailer first reported on Brand Developers suspending sales of the Shark NV350 and NV356 on 12 February 2015, when a letter sent by Brand Developers to retailers was leaked to us. At the time, no indication was given as to the nature of the fault, nor were consumers advised that their appliance may be faulty.
Then, on 13 March 2015, Appliance Retailer revealed that Brand Developers had upgraded this suspension of sale to an official recall. Again, this news only come to light after a letter from Brand Developers national key account manager Dale Wooldridge to retail partners was leaked to us. In this letter, Wooldridge writes that, “The power cords of affected NV350NZ and NV356NZ Shark Navigator vacuum cleaners for the New Zealand and Australian market have been associated with a manufacturing process issue.”
Today, we can reveal that the official cause of this recall is because of “a fault that can create excessive heat in the power cord has been reported in some of these models”, and that this can present a “risk of burn and electric shock”.
Appliance Retailer has written to Brand Developers asking why it has taken 32 days for the company to confirm the nature of the fault, the potential injuries caused by the fault and, considering the seriousness of these factors, why an official upgrade wasn’t enacted sooner.
The two Shark vacuum cleaners that have been recalled are:
- Shark Navigator Lift-Away (NV350NZ) — only units manufactured before 18 October 2014; and
- Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional (NV356NZ)
The recalled vacuum cleaners were sold nationally through the TV Shop and retailers including Harvey Norman, Big W, Target, The Good Guys, Masters, Bing Lee and Betta Home Living. Retailers seeking more information about this recall can ring the Shark Customer Service Team retailer number on 1800 303 031.
Affected consumers are advised to unplug their vacuum cleaner from the wall and not to use it again until the fault has been fixed. Consumers can register their details and make arrangements to send in their appliance for a replacement cord and plug, both free of charge, at sharkclean.com.au or by calling the Shark hotline on 1800 722 222. Brand Developers estimates that the collection, repair and return of the fixed vacuum will take five business days.
The Shark brand is owned by Euro-Pro Operating, a family run company based in Massachusetts, in the United States. In addition to the Shark range of floorcare products, Brand Developers also markets Euro-Pro’s small appliance brand Ninja.
In recent years, Shark has developed something of a cult following, based largely off its TV infomercials and goading of rival brand Dyson. In August 2014, Shark was the surprise winner of Canstar Blue’s floorcare brand survey, eclipsing Dyson, Hoover, Miele, Electrolux and other more fancied names to be crowned Australia’s most satisfying vacuuming brand.
“Shark vacuum cleaners is the new kid on the block; it’s a fantastic product range and now we’ve got the research to prove it,” said Brand Developers category marketing manager Penny Bicknell at that time. “[This is] an outstanding success for Shark and it makes us very proud to be associated with the product and [to know] so many people are happy with their purchases.”
WE ARE NOT THE SUPPLIER OF THIS PRODUCT. WE ARE AN INDEPENDENT MEDIA TITLE. PLEASE FOLLOW THE STEPS OUTLINED ABOVE TO CONTACT SHARK’S AUSTRALIAN SUPPLIER.