Beyond White- Hope in the High End

Consumers' current desire and need to stay close to home could prove a boon for some appliance sectors.

By Collin Keefe

With the year-long economic slump looking like it's going to get worse as 2001 winds down, merchants and manufacturers in almost every sector are lowering their expectations for 2002, while scrambling to amass a survival plan to get themselves out of 2001's hole. In the major appliances world things aren't much different. Recent indicators show that sales, if not flat, are falling.