The Winner's Circle

The 2008 Best in Class Kitchen & Bath survey rated brand awareness, uses and preferences of the top remodeling industry manufacturers and their products. The respondents were randomly selected from Professional Remodeler's readership and completed our survey via e-mail between December 2007 and January 2008. We had 493 responses, with many (172) who reported working both residential and commercial remodeling jobs. Architects and residential kitchen and bath specialists made up 11 percent of the pool. Interestingly, most of our respondents reported as heads of their company and many — 76 percent — have been in business for 10 or more years.

For each product category, respondents were presented with a list of brands and manufacturer names and were asked three questions:

Of the [product] brands/manufacturers listed, which are you aware of?
Which of these [product] brands/manufacturers has your company used in the past 18 months?
Which one is your preferred brand/manufacturer of [product]?

Though remodeling jobs span across all price points and tastes, there is a tendency to see high-end names like Kohler, Moen, GE and Delta among the first when it comes to awareness and use. Those companies, based on our results, seem to do the best job of sticking in our heads when it comes to making product choices.

Merillat and Kraftmaid continue to be top companies for kitchens and bathrooms. In the past year, both have released upgrades such as roll-out trays, self-closing hinges and durable protective finishes.

Synthetic marble maker Corian and laminate producer Formica each share the same numbers in awareness and nearly the same in use. However, it seems our installers prefer to work with Corian. Engineered stone producer Silestone, while neck-and-neck in awareness and use, outranks acrylic solid surface maker Wilsonart.

Stainless steel is king in appliances. GE, which casts the widest net, also carries the widest cachet. Whirlpool and SubZero, interestingly, are within the sampling margin of error between each other in the field, despite the fact that they tend to cover different market segments.

Attachments, especially those integrated into the faucet itself, are in, and remodelers are using Moen, with its ChoiceFlow system and Kohler, with its integrated pull-down options. For those who find themselves under the sink, Delta's new Diamond water delivery system may help it move up a notch for next year's survey.

It is effectively a four-way tie in bathroom faucets in awareness. Out of the pack, Kohler carries use and preference, but not by much.

	Aware	Used (Past 18 mos.)	Prefer
Cabinets
Kraftmaid	89%	43%	23%
Merillat	77%	28%	14%
Aristokraft	75%	18%	4%
American Woodmark	60%	16%	4%
Countertops & Surfaces
Corian	96%	61%	28%
Silestone	81%	40%	19%
Formica	96%	59%	10%
Wilsonart	87%	42%	8%
Kitchen Appliances
GE	96%	70%	24%
KitchenAid	96%	58%	14%
SubZero	92%	48%	12%
Whirlpool	93%	48%	9%
Kitchen Sinks
Kohler	96%	73%	40%
American Standard	94%	51%	10%
Moen	83%	39%	7%
Delta	81%	36%	5%
Kitchen Faucets
Kohler	96%	67%	25%
Moen	96%	65%	21%
Delta	96%	59%	13%
American Standard	91%	43%	6%
Bathroom Sinks
Kohler	95%	75%	65%
American Standard	94%	55%	15%
Elkay	74%	23%	5%
Sterling	53%	14%	2%
Tubs/Whirlpools
Kohler	92%	55%	38%
Jacuzzi	94%	46%	29%
American Standard	90%	37%	7%
Lasco	50%	17%	7%
Toilets
Kohler	98%	75%	47%
Toto	64%	40%	24%
American Standard	96%	61%	19%
Sterling	50%	10%	2%
Bathroom Faucets
Kohler	96%	67%	29%
Moen	96%	64%	23%
Delta	95%	57%	15%
American Standard	94%	49%	6%