Odd......Rotel is alive and well, selling premium home audio, but I don't see any kitchen appliances on their website. And that's not the correct logo either.
You could put it next to your Akai cooker http://www.akai.com.au/product-categories/kitchen-appliances Given the way brand names are sold from one company to another it is possible that they are only have the rights to use the name in certain countries. On the Vintage Radio and TV site someone was complaining, quite rightly, how companies will pay £millions for a brand name, while the actual factories that used to make the equipment that earned a company its reputation get sold for scrap. It appears that here in the UK, Dixons have the right to use the JVC name, which explains why all their JVC TVs are the cheapest in the shop and made in Turkey.
Same with Toshiba I believe, name is owned by Argos if I recall correctly, mostly rebranded stuff and mass-produced in Turkey. A real shame this happens....
If you go to Japan you'll find that a lot of these companies make just about everything, going back to the 70's. A few like Pioneer and AIWA might be mostly audio, the rest seem to make any home appliance they could think of even before the demise of these once great companies.
Do not underestimate the power of a kitchen appliance , Sony's first ever product was an electrical rice cooker and although it was a failure it led to the company that today has a net worth of about 70 B $ Nevertheless I hope Sony will not make a rice cooker again.
Bush and Alba are Argo's own brands, although you are right about Toshiba TVs being made by Vestel in Turkey In fact they seem to make most low price TVs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestel The only name you never seem to see on a Vestel TV is Vestel ! What is annoying is things like the boxes of the Hitachi TVs in Sainsbury's having a picture of the Hitachi Javelin train on them, implying that they are built by the same company. Some more information https://www.avforums.com/threads/how-to-tell-if-your-tvs-a-vestel.2019864/ In fact even Panasonic are using them for a second time https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/2275457/panasonic-using-vestel-again Some valid points in those threads about prices. I bought two "Made in UK" Toshiba TVs. The first a 25" CRT cost me £440 back in 1989 The second a 32" LCD was £400 back in 2009. You would have difficulty finding a 32" TV costing that much today, although you would also have problems finding one with as many inputs and as good a sound system.
Soo true and Sad! Really... this is why it makes sense to go after “boutique” companies when auditioning hi-end stack: extra $$$ for small production run but no double-$$$ for the Consumer-Recognition Brand Name. Did I say Naim Audio? ... Yes, but you have to actually audition to hear the difference... as with Nak decks: specks and YouTube do not convey the “magic” of a real-life experience!
