We’d never ever build in obsolescence

In response to Hugh Pearman’s Private View on appliances seemingly designed to self-destruct (DW 10 June), we can report from the coalface of in-house design that we have never encountered an example of planned obsolescence being built into any of our products and we would be horrified if we ever came across one, as would our company’s quality department.

We have products at nearly every price point, which often translates as varied durability, but every effort is made at each level to offer the best product within the constraints. A slightly defensive design voice hoping for echoed sentiment elsewhere.

Thinking of the bigger issues, we’re strategically interested in sustainability – how many people have you heard say that their family elders have had a Kenwood Chef for 40 years and it’s still going strong?

The brand infuses every decision big or small, and to undermine the best intentions would be to deceive ourselves and make things even more complex than they already are. That’s not to say that we’ve arrived, though.

Robin Ferraby, Kenwood Design Office, by e-mail

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