Sitting next to the two models of stainless steel Jenn-Air grills is its cheaper and superior cousin made by Vermont Castings. The Vermont Castings "Jenn-Air" grill won't be noticed, which is unfortunate because for the price it is a superior product. Only time will tell how deals like this work out and whether or not people are satisfied (or fooled) by these renamed products. For Lowe's the get the brand name to advertise in the Sunday papers, Jenn-Air gets paid for the name and Nexgrill profits from the sales. Hopefully the consumer isn't the only one losing out on the deal.
You will also see grills with the Brinkmann name on them in many different stores. These grills too are made in China and made to fit a specific price that the store wants. Some are not too bad, others are very cheap and simply won't last. It's a hit and miss with these because the basic components are so different.
Also out on the floors of the big stores will be a healthy dose of Webers and Char-Broils. Increasingly Char-Broil is switching its manufacturing to China to beat the steel prices and to put our products to fit a wide price range. There are now Char-Broil grills selling for nearly $1,000. Of course most of the Char-Broils you see will be much cheaper. But with the exception of Weber, most every grill you see in the mass market merchants will have its price set by the stores, not the manufacturers. Great for the stores, not good for either the manufacturers of the consumers. In fact many manufacturers are getting away from the large retailers in favor of smaller, specialty retailers. Coleman is an example of this. Coleman hit the market a few years ago in a big way, capturing a big piece of the pie in a short period of time. Only problem, they couldn't make money on lower end units sold through the big stores.
