An Oreck Buys Back Retail Stores

Oreck owns 100 stores around the country, many of which are being acquired by one-time CEO Tom Oreck. Credit: socialwoodlands via Flickr

The family that started making Oreck brand vacuum cleaners will continue to be part of the business, even now that it has been taken over by a competitor. Tom Oreck is buying the company’s retail stores after the Nashville-based firm was sold at a bankruptcy auction this month.

Tom is the son of founder David Oreck, known as the TV pitchman for his vacuum cleaners. He was CEO of the 50-year-old company until 2007, when he was asked to step aside by the investors who owned a majority stake in Oreck.

The new owner is TTI Floor Care – which makes Hoover and Dirt Devil brands. The Cleveland-based company has announced it is close to an agreement with Oreck to purchase an “unspecified number” of stores. TTI acquired all 100 of them when it bought Oreck for $17 million.

In a statement, Tom Oreck says partnering with a one-time competitor will “enhance and sustain the Oreck brand…for generations to come.”

TTI Floor Care has also said it will maintain Oreck’s vacuum factory in Cookeville and keep a small presence in Nashville, where the company was headquartered.