Vacuum power

Not many companies say innovation without advertising can directly capture the world's customers. But British home appliance provider Dyson believes so.

Calling itself a company of engineers, Dyson plans to bring its innovative Airblade hand drier and Cyclone vacuum cleaner to the Chinese market. In line with its global marketing strategy - word of mouth - it will target trial use with no advertising at all.

"We plan to launch the hand drier here at the end of March, and the vacuum cleaner will be introduced within the year," says Jocelyn Stuart-Grumbar, managing director of Dyson Electrical Engineering (Nanjing) Co Ltd.

Stuart-Grumbar, who successfully introduced the Dyson products to Spain, Italy and United States, says the first task in China is to help local customers understand its technology-intensive products. Letting potential customers trial use the products and enjoy the convenience is key.

He reveals to China Business Weekly that Dyson has offered trial use to Sofitel Hotel in Nanjing for hand driers. "It only takes 10 seconds for our hand driers to take water off your hands, which can save an average of 85 percent of energy, compared with ordinary products. Plus, such products will save a large amount of paper towels," Stuart-Grumbar says.

The reason why Dyson is choosing to launch hand driers in China is because the firm cooperates with a partner in Nanjing, manufacturing hand driers for the world market. The factory was opened in 2006.

"Dyson's cutting edge technology, together with Chinese manufacturers' skills creates a top-end product," he notes. China is the first market in which the Airblade hand driers have been launched.

Dyson is globally known for its vacuum cleaners. Its founder James Dyson is the inventor of vacuum cyclone technology, a process that took five years and over 5,000 prototypes.

The company currently manufactures four categories of vacuums: upright vacuums, canister vacuums, lightweight vacuums and handheld vacuums.

The Root Cyclone technology in Dyson vacuum cleaners separates dirt and dust from the air by centrifugal force and collecting it in a bin. This means the product does not rely on a bag or filter and does not lose suction.

"During development, we beat, bash, freeze and drop our machines before we are satisfied with them. That's how we know they work properly. Every Dyson upright and cylinder vacuum cleaner is covered by a free five year parts and labor guarantee," Stuart-Grumbar says.

"At Dyson we work towards one idea: Everyday objects can be made to work better. It is an obsession. As a result, we are never completely satisfied, not even with our own machines, so we test and analyze them rigorously," Stuart-Grumbar says. He points out that Dyson's microbiology lab grows and studies bacteria, mould and dust mites to discover better ways of removing them from homes.

In order to maintain its leadership in technology, Dyson spends 10 percent of its turnover on research and development. Last year, it appropriated $1.5 billion on R&D. The firm has over 500 designers and engineers who test for over 30,000 hours a month.

The innovative products have gained huge success in Dyson's 44 markets. Dyson vacuum cleaners are best sellers by value in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and United Kingdom.

In 2004, the company launched its DC12 vacuum cleaner tailor-made for the Japanese market. With the advantages of a smaller size and ease-of-use, the product helped the firm increase sales in Japan by 177 percent in 2006, compared with the year before.

"We will tailor make products for Chinese customers too," the managing director reveals. But he says at the initial phase in China, they will introduce its best selling series to the Chinese market.

Home appliance retailers, such as Gome and Suning, will probably be the major channels, and the company did not rule out the possibility of direct selling or e-commerce. "We are still new to China. We will pay special attention to study the market," he says.

A trading company, Dyson Electrical (Trading) Co Ltd, will be launched in Beijing soon, and its sales force will begin operations by then, Stuart-Grumbar says.

Dyson sees huge potential in the Chinese market, and aims to make every step here firm and steady, he adds. "This is just like how we entered the US market, we were very cautious to make sure everything was correct. At the moment, US business accounts for about half of our total business."

(China Daily 01/28/2008 page9)