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1
Philips has always been big in consumer electronics. They were very productive and creative from the 1970s to the 1990s with small appliances. They made everything! Mainly placed in the top price range, the overall quality of products was very good to excellent. Many products have original designs and can be recognized easily.
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2
Rowenta is another big player in the german market. The core products are hot irons. But they made top quality devices for every category. Great coffee makers, grills and toasters. And also a pretty good series of hair dryers and hair styling sets. They also invested a lot of time in developing a nice line-up of dental cleaners.
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3
Krups started with kitchen scales and coffee grinders. In the 1970s they offered a wide range of small kitchen appliances like mixers, scales and coffee machines. But also bodycare products like hair dryers and dental cleaners. Quality and design of all products was above average and sometimes very innovative. Products often show similarities to Braun products.
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4
Moulinex was a popular brand and present in most households in the 1970s. They were very succesful in making small appliances avaliable in a lower price range. In 1961 they introduced the slogan "Moulinex libère la femme" (Moulinex, liberator of women). Most products were well built and well designed, sometimes with futuristic styling.
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5
Siemens is another large german company with several great products in all the standard categories. Coffee makers and grinders, toasters, citrus presses, hot plates and hair dryers. Many products were also released under the Bosch brand name.
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6
Braun is famous for their timeless design and strong brand. For all the other companies they were the reference, and many of the household and bodycare products are true icons even now. The level of innovation and product variation was very high in the 1970s and 1980s, especially with hair dryers and dental cleaners.
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7
AEG is one of the companies in the german market that has always had some products in all major categories. From coffee machines to toasters, flatirons and hair dryers. Later they were also busy trying to get a spot in the dental cleaner market share.
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8
Melitta is known for everything you need to make a good cup of coffee, like coffee makers, grinders and coffee filters. But in the 1970s and 1980s they also made a couple of other machines like a deep fryer and a air cleaner range. And in the late 1970s the even launched a product line-up specially for the Japanese market, including a food processor.
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9
SHG was a smaller company from Munich in West Germany. Often claimed as products from East Germany. SHG produced a couple of product line ups in the mid and late 70s and continued until the late 90s. Most of these products were priced lower than comparable products but the design is pretty good and product quality is great.
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10
SEB is the other big player in France. Together with brands like Tefal and Calor they created many nice products in many categories. Most of these products were priced lower than comparable products from Germany. The design is excellent and overall build quality is above average.