One look at the company’s website makes it seem like all of the outlets have been moved online.

If Oneida can do anything, it seems like it’s figured out how to survive. Oneida has made it through two World Wars, the Great Depression, and many distressed economies. It’s sort of a miracle that it even survived its initial years. Oneida is more than 100 years old and started in a so-called utopian community where men and women had supposedly equal roles and everyone had to constantly switch partners so that no “special love” could develop. (Of course, things weren’t always so glorious in this utopia. After all, the assassins of both Presidents Garfield and McKinley were once members. But that’s another story altogether.) This was back in the 1880s and the community began to make money for itself by creating and selling high-quality, silver-plated flatware.

You can be sure that such open marital relations aren’t the norm at the company these days, but neither is manufacturing the actual goods in the United States. In 2006, Oneida became the last major manufacturer of flatware to leave the United States. This likely helped the company pull itself out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the time. It still is headquartered in the US but the company’s everyday flatware, dinnerware, kitchenware, baby products, gifts, drinkware, and food-service products are all created in Indonesia, Vietnam, China, etc. Sad, but true.

Oneida's website is all about sales – a pretty straightforward online retail space where consumers are expected to arrive, browse, and then buy, buy, buy. It’s not exactly a cold website, but it is – like the brand’s products – very practical and utilitarian.

The home page features a 70 percent off sale and proclaims that shipping is free after certain price points are met. It also promotes a “Sizzling deal of the week.” Everywhere you look on the site, it’s all about commerce and what a deal you are being offered.

The "Virtual Place Setting" is a useful and fun interactive feature that allows customers to change the images of flatware and dishes at a place setting so they can get a sense of what the product might look like on their particular kitchen or dining room table.

But Oneida's website lacks information about the brand’s roots, which are firmly grounded in a heritage of providing top quality products known for exquisite craftsmanship, durability, and styles. Yet, unfortunately, there is no mention of the individual designers or the research behind the company’s ergonomic designs.

Despite these shortcomings, you can’t argue with success. Last year, a consumer survey by Home Furnishing News ranked Oneida as the number one tabletop brand.