With the mid-term elections behind us, it’s clearly apparent there’s still one overriding thought on Americans’ minds right now — the economy.

But while finding bright spots in the economy and today’s housing market can be tough, our good friends at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently provided one stat we can all get excited about:

“NAHB economists project that the industry will need to deliver 16 million homes over the next decade just to keep pace with demand.”

You guessed it — 16 million homes equal 16 million new kitchens that will be built. And when you add in remodeling projects, which will only increase once the economy rebounds, the next decade looks to be extremely promising. We just need to take the past few years in stride and chalk it up as lesson learned.

So what are we doing to prepare for this potential wave? We’re building a foundation for both the consumer and our trade partners that will put us in position to flourish. The plan has already been set in motion — our industry-leading ONE TWO FREE™ program is back for 2011, this time around to include a free step-up to the top-of-the-line Sapphire 6-program Dishwasher with the purchase of any Freedom Collection Wine Column.

We’re also ramping up our marketing efforts. Last month we held a media event in New York both to unveil our new Steam & Convection Oven, and to preview our new brand campaign for 2011 and beyond — centered on the phrase “Real Innovations for Real Cooks.” The new campaign, Thermador’s biggest marketing launch ever, has already started creating a buzz — see Marketing Daily’s story here.

And that’s just a taste of what’s to come. 2011 is going to be a tremendous year for us at Thermador — a year that will put us in position to capitalize as the country returns to a state of normalcy, and even prosperity, with the housing market following suit.

So while the homebuilding industry and overall economy may seem depressed right now, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. A decade of demand is reason No. 1.

Cheers,

Zach Elkin

Director of Thermador brand