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CASE STUDY IV.3
Dyson Vacuum Cleaner: shifting from domestic to international marketing with the famous bagless vacuum cleaner

The Dyson history
It is impossible to separate the very British Dyson vacuum cleaner from its very British inventor. Together they are synonymous with innovation and legal battles against established rivals.
James Dyson was born in
Norfolk in 1947. He studied furniture design and interior design at the Royal College of
Art from 1966 to 1970 and his first product, the Sea Truck, was launched while he was still
Courtesy of Dyson. studying. Dyson’s foray into developing vacuum cleaner technology happened by chance. In
1978, while renovating his 300-year-old country house,
Dyson became frustrated with the poor performance of his conventional vacuum cleaner. Whenever he went to use it, there was poor suction. One day he thought he would find out what was wrong with the design. He noted that the appliance worked by drawing air through the bag to create suction, but when even a fine layer of dust got inside, it clogged its pores, stopping the airflow and suction.
In his usual style of seeking solutions from unexpected sources, Dyson noticed how a nearby sawmill used a cyclone – a 30-foot-high cone that spun dust out of the air by centrifugal force – to expel waste. He reasoned that a vacuum cleaner that could separate dust by cyclonic action and spin it out of the airstream which would eliminate the need for both bag and filter. James Dyson set out to replicate the cyclonic system. Over the next eight years, Dyson tried to license his dual cyclone concept to established vacuum manufacturers, only to be turned down. At least two of these initial contacts forced him to file patent infringement lawsuits, which he won in out-of-court and in-court settlements. Finally in 1985, a small company in Japan contacted him out of the blue after seeing a picture of

his vacuum cleaner in a magazine. Mortgaged to the hilt and on the brink of bankruptcy, Dyson took the cheapest flight to Tokyo to negotiate a deal. The result was the G Force vacuum cleaner, priced at US$2,000, which became the ultimate domestic appliance status symbol in Japan.
In June 1993, using money from the Japanese licence, Dyson opened a research centre and factory in
Malmesbury, Wiltshire. Here he developed the Dyson dual cyclone and within two years it was the fastestselling vacuum cleaner in the UK.
Dyson was nearly bankrupted by the legal costs of establishing and protecting his patent. It took him more than 14 years to get his first product into a shop and it is on display in the Science Museum. Other products can be seen in the Victoria & Albert Museum, the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Georges
Pompidou Centre in Paris.
Dyson went on to develop the Root 8 Cyclone, which removes more dust by using eight cyclones instead of two. In 2000, he launched the Contrarotator washing machine, which uses two drums spinning in opposite directions and is said to wash faster and with better results than traditional washing machines. M17_HOLL6227_05_SE_C17.qxd

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In 2008 the company’s sales reached £700 million, roughly two-thirds of which came from outside the
United Kingdom, while pre-tax profit for the year was
£150 million, up 32 per cent on 2008. Almost all the sales come from vacuum cleaners – a product in which
Dyson has built large sales in the United States, Japan and Australia.

Marketing of the Dyson vacuum cleaner
Dyson believes the most effective marketing tool is by word of mouth, and today the company claims
70 per cent of its vacuum cleaners are sold on personal recommendation. An enthusiastic self-publicist, Dyson believes that if you make something, you should sell it yourself, so he often appears in his own advertisements.
When a Belgian court banned Dyson from denigrating old-style vacuum cleaner bags, he was pictured wearing his trademark blue shirt and holding a Dyson vacuum cleaner in a press advertisement that had the word
‘bag’ blacked out several times. A note at the bottom said: ‘Sorry, but the Belgian courts won’t let you know what everyone has a right to know’.
Dyson has sometimes shunned advertising altogether. For example, in 1996–97 the company spent its marketing budget sponsoring Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ solo expedition to Antarctica, and gave £1.5 million to the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
As rivals started to manufacture their own bagless cleaners, Dyson knew he would have to advertise more aggressively and in 2000 he appointed an advertising agency to promote the £2 million business. The marketing strategy, however, remains true to Dyson’s original principles, with an emphasis on information and education rather than brand-building. Moreover, it seems to be working, one in every three vacuum cleaners bought in Britain today is a Dyson. See also
Table 1.

The world market for vacuum cleaners
The use of vacuum cleaners is largely related to national preferences for carpets rather than floor tiles.
In many warm countries floor tiles are more usual than carpets, and these can be swept rather than vacuumed.
In countries where houses are predominantly carpeted, such as in Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and North
America, the number of households owning vacuum cleaners is high. In 2008 approximately 95 per cent of households owned vacuum cleaners in Belgium,
Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United
States and the United Kingdom. Many Belgian households possess more than one vacuum cleaner, as traditional vacuum cleaners are often complemented

with hand-held cleaners (cleanettes). In parts of Eastern
Europe it is also common to carpet walls, which provides additional demand for vacuum cleaners.
Few vacuum cleaners are sold in China and India.
Vacuum cleaners have only been available in China for ten years, but ownership has not become widespread.
In India many of the rural population do not have the means for such appliances and power supply is erratic.
The Asia-Pacific market for vacuum cleaners (not shown in Table 1) is 14 million units per year.
The world market for vacuum cleaners is fairly mature and stable. As average prices fell throughout 2000–08, value growth amounted to only 2 per cent overall. In
2008 the number of vacuum cleaners sold throughout the world was 85 million units. Demand is driven mainly by replacement purchases at the end of a product’s life cycle (the commercial lifetime of a vacuum cleaner is about eight years), although new product developments such as bagless models spurred growth in some markets.
The most sold vacuum cleaner types are the upright and the cylinder types. The distinction between upright and cylinder vacuum cleaners became less clear in recent years, with the addition of hoses and tools to the upright version and cylinders mimicking uprights by adding turbo brushes to eradicate dust from carpets.
Cylinder, or canister, vacuum cleaners make up the majority of the global market, but do not take a strong lead, accounting for 70 per cent of European volume sales in 2008, compared with 30 per cent for upright models (see Table 1). As upright vacuum cleaners are more expensive their share is higher by value, amounting to 35 per cent of the market by value.
Generally, the sales of upright vacuum cleaners grew faster than cylinders over the five-year period from 2000 to 2008. This largely reflected trends in the US, which was the world’s leading market for vacuum cleaners
(especially upright vacuum cleaners). Here, the addition of new features fuelled the upright subsector, including bagless operation, HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filtration and self-propulsion, which are available in various combinations on models selling for less than
US$200.
In other markets, such as in Eastern Europe, cylinder vacuum cleaners are the most popular type as they are more practical for use on wall carpets, which are common, for example, in Russia.
Hand-held vacuum cleaners do not play an important role in the market, and are ignored in the rest of this case study.
The market for vacuum cleaners tends to be dominated by leading white goods manufacturers. Electrolux was uncontested world leader in this sector in 2008 with a volume share of 14 per cent through its brands
Eureka and Electrolux.

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Table 1

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Vacuum cleaners: market volume and market shares (2008)

Market/%/
Manufacturers
(brands)

Germany Italy Sweden France Spain

UK

Netherlands

7.0

1.0

Total
United
western States
Europe

Total market
Volume (million units)

6.0

2.5

0.6

3.0

0.9

+ others

24.0

35

3.0
% – types:
Cylinder

80

60

95

90

95

35

90

70

15

Upright

20

40

5

10

5

65

10

30

85

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Total
Market shares (%):
BSH (Bosch-Siemens
Hausgeräte)

14

–

9

–

–

–

28

8

Electrolux (Eureka in US)

13

–

51

19

–

14

9

14

Miele

11

–

12

9

–

3

23

9

Dyson Appliances

6

1

2

1

1

22

2

10

SEB Group (Rowenta +
Moulinex)

1

18

–

22

19

–

8

7

15

12

–

–

–

7

–

8

TTI (Hoover/Dirt devil)
Bissell

18

4

30
21

Philips

3

–

2

–

7

–

De Longhi

–

15

–

–

–

–

Matsushita (Panasonic)

–

8

–

21

5

–

2

Daewoo Group

8

–

–

–

–

–

1

Samsung

6

–

–

–

–

–

1

Electromomésticos
Solac SA

4
2

–

–

–

10

–

–

1

8

–

15

2

5

3

3

4

5

29

40

1

47

37

46

17

30

22

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Private label
Others
Total

10

Comments: In Europe and USA Hoover and Dirt Devil are manufactured by TTI Floor Care North America (Hoover) and its subsidiary Royal Appliance Manufacturing (Dirt Devil). The SEB group took over the Rowenta brand in 1988. In 2001 the SEB Group took over Moulinex SA and the SEB Group now markets the Moulinex vacuum cleaner.
Source: author’s own, based on Euromonitor.

In recent years one of the most significant developments in the market is bagless technology. Dyson UK pioneered its dual cyclone technology back in 1993 and it is protected by patent, but other manufacturers were quick to develop bagless versions. In the United
States, bagless vacuum cleaners increased their unit share from just 2.6 per cent in 1998 to over 20 per cent in 2008.

The western European market is rather fragmented.
Dyson was some way behind Electrolux with a share of
9 per cent (see Table 1). Though Dyson’s overall market share is not high it used to be one of the dominating brands in the high-priced segment.
The Asia-Pacific market for vacuum cleaners is highly concentrated, with the top five players accounting for 80 per cent of sales in 2008. These

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were all Japanese companies, led by Matsushita. The latter also led the Australasian market, slightly ahead of
Dyson. Interestingly, Samsung did not rank among the top five Asian manufacturers in 2008, although it led the Eastern European market.
In the United States Dyson now sells 1 million units, equal to a total market share of 4 per cent. However, in the high-priced segment (US$400 – plus) Dyson (in
2008) pushed Hoover to a second place with 21 per cent of the market against Hoover’s 15 per cent. Dyson is taking market shares in the high end, which Hoover used to dominate, and at the same time Hoover lost the low-cost market to non-brand Asian competitors.
While not as expensive as ultra-premium lines, such as Miele and Kirby, upright models of Dyson vacuum cleaners are resolutely high-end, with models retailing for US$350–550. The company does not engage in discounting, maintaining the brand’s high prices as part of an overall image of quality. Even its hand-held model retails for US$150, which is significantly higher than its competitors. In United States vacuum cleaners can be found in a growing number of retail outlets, such as Best Buy, Sears Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target and
Wal-Mart.

Competitors
The following describes the five most important players in the world vacuum cleaner industry.

BSH (Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte)
Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte (www.bsh-group.com) was established in 1967 by the merger of the domestic appliance divisions of Robert Bosch Hausgeräte and
Siemens. During the 1990s, the company was largely geared towards improving its international presence and this was achieved mainly through organic growth, with a cautious approach taken towards acquisitions
(e.g. Ufesa).
Ufesa is the leading manufacturer in Spain and
Portugal of small appliances such as vacuum cleaners, irons and coffee makers, and has a good export network to Latin America. The acquisition allowed BSH to improve its production and distribution arrangements.
Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte (BSH) is entirely focused on the production and servicing of domestic electrical appliances, including large kitchen appliances and small electrical appliances.
BSH remains highly focused on western Europe, especially its domestic German market. Germany alone accounted for 28 per cent of total sales in 2008, down from 30 per cent the previous year. This was due to the difficult trading environment, which led to a 4 per cent overall decline in sales in this market.

Sales in markets outside western Europe were minimal, with North America, Eastern Europe and AsiaPacific each accounting for 6 per cent of the total and
Latin America just 3 per cent. Eastern Europe recorded above-average growth rates, especially Russia with over
21 per cent.
Sales in Latin America continued to decline, due to the ongoing economic crisis in Argentina, and both
Brazil and Argentina causing significant foreignexchange-related losses. However, double-digit growth was achieved in China, where the company saw sales rise for the fourth consecutive year.

Electrolux
Electrolux www.electrolux.com is the world’s secondlargest manufacturer of large kitchen appliances behind
American Whirlpool, in terms of revenue derived from this activity. The company is headquartered in Sweden and produces a wide range of large kitchen appliances, as well as vacuum cleaners and heating and cooling equipment. In addition, Electrolux manufactures products outside the scope of this report, such as garden equipment, food service equipment and chainsaws.
Electrolux dates back to 1901 when its predecessor,
Lux AB, was formed in Stockholm as a manufacturer of kerosene lamps. The company changed its name to
Electrolux AB in 1919, following collaboration between
Lux AB and Svenska Elektron AB. The company shifted into electrical appliances in 1912, when it introduced its first household vacuum cleaner, the
Lux 1. In 1925, this was followed by the launch of the first Electrolux absorption refrigerator. The company was quick to expand internationally, and by the 1930s was selling refrigerators and vacuum cleaners across the globe.
Between the 1940s and the 1980s, Electrolux expanded into the areas of large kitchen appliances, floor care and garden equipment sectors through a wide range of acquisitions. In the 1990s the company worked to expand its appliance business internationally.
The company is divided into two major business areas: 1. Consumer durables, including large kitchen appliances and air conditioners, floor care products
(vacuum cleaners) and garden equipment (such as lawnmowers, garden tractors and lawn trimmers).
2. Professional products, including food-service equipment, laundry equipment for apartment/house laundry rooms, launderettes, hotels and institutions, components such as compressors, forestry equipment such as chainsaws and clearing saws and other products such as landscape maintenance equipment, turf-care equipment and professional-use power cutters.

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Electrolux’s business is largely split between Europe and North America, which together accounted for
80 per cent of sales in the consumer durables division in 2008. The company has achieved a good balance between these regions, with similar sales levels.

Miele
Miele (www.mielevacuums.com) is a German-based, family-run company, which produces a range of premium household appliances (e.g. vacuum cleaners), commercial appliances, components and fitted kitchens. Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann established Miele in Gütersloh, Germany in 1899. Since its inception the company has been focused on producing high-quality appliances at the premium end of the market.
The company began producing washing machines in
1900: vacuum cleaners and dishwashers added to the product portfolio in the 1920s. During the 1950s and
1960s the company began to produce fully automatic washing machines and dishwashers, as well as tumble dryers. The 1970s saw further advances in technology, with the launch of built-in washing machines and condenser dryers and microcomputer-controlled appliances.
Since then, they have produced a number of innovative appliances including washing machines with handwash programmes for woollens, and during the 1990s, vacuum cleaners with the HEPA filter and sealed system. HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters are beneficial for asthma and allergy sufferers, because the HERA filter traps fine particles such as pollen which trigger allergy and asthma symptoms.
Over the past decade Miele has focused on expanding its business overseas, especially in Eastern
Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company opened a branch office in Hong Kong in 1998, followed by offices in Poland and Russia, US headquarters in
Princeton, New Jersey in 1999 and in 2001 it opened sales offices in Singapore and Mexico.
Miele has made few significant acquisitions through its history. Its largest acquisition was that of Imperial, a
German company specializing in built-in appliances and catering equipment, in 1990.
Miele products are marketed throughout Europe and also in the United States, Canada, South Africa,
Australia, Japan and Hong Kong through subsidiaries, and elsewhere in the world via authorized importers.
The company’s range of domestic electrical appliances covers vacuum cleaners, large kitchen appliances such as home laundry appliances, refrigeration appliances, large cooking appliances, microwaves and dishwashers and other small appliances such as rotary irons and coffee makers. The company specializes in producing innovative products within these sectors.

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As a private company, Miele does not release detailed financial results.
The company lists its highest gross overseas market as the Netherlands, followed by Switzerland, France,
Austria, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The United States recorded especially swift growth at double-digit rates. Double-digit growth was also achieved in Greece, Finland and Ireland, while other markets showing above average growth, included the
United Kingdom and Norway. Russia also showed extremely good growth, although to date the company has only focused on Moscow and St Petersburg.

Groupe SEB
Groupe SEB of France (www.seb.com) is one of the world’s leading producers of small domestic equipment. The company is entirely focused on this area, manufacturing household goods (cookware), as well as small electrical appliances such as cooking appliances
(steam cookers, toasters, coffee makers and grills), home appliances (vacuum cleaners and fans), and personal care appliances (hair dryers, scales and electric toothbrushes). SEB’s key brands include T-Fal/Tefal,
Rowenta, Krups and SEB.
Groupe SEB’s origins date back to 1857, when the tinware company Antoine Lescure was founded. The company gradually expanded its activities to include products such as kitchen utensils and zinc tubs, beginning to mechanize its production at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1953, the company launched the first pressure cooker.
The company has since grown by acquisition. This began with Tefal in 1968, a company specializing in non-stick cookware, and continued with the acquisition of the Lyon company, Calor, a maker of irons, hair dryers, small washing machines and portable radiators in 1972. In 1973, a group structure was formed under a lead holding company, SEB SA, which was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange two years later.
Groupe SEB made a significant push into international markets when it acquired Rowenta in 1988, a
German manufacturer of irons, electric coffee makers, toasters and vacuum cleaners. In 1992 and 1993, it took advantage of the opening up of Eastern Europe, setting up marketing operations to make inroads in these countries and gain a foothold in the Russian market.
In 1997–98, Groupe SEB entered South America with the acquisition of Arno, Brazil’s market leader in small electrical appliances. Arno specializes in the manufacture and sale of food preparation appliances
(mixers/blenders), non-automatic washing machines and fans.
In September 2001, Groupe SEB’s main domestic rival, Moulinex, filed for bankruptcy. The company

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submitted an offer for a partial takeover of the business assets of Moulinex, for which it finally received approval by both the European Commission and the French
Finance Ministry in 2002. Moulinex had purchased one of Europe’s leading brands, Krups, in the early 1990s, and was a good fit with Groupe SEB’s existing businesses.
Groupe SEB has stated its intention to expand in emerging markets which offer high growth potential, such as Brazil, Korea, the CIS (former Soviet Republic) countries and China, although it also sees potential for development of high added-value niche products in developed markets such as the EU, North America and
Japan.
Growth was achieved in all regions in 2008, largely due to the partial acquisition in that year of MoulinexKrups.

Whirlpool
In 2006 Whirlpool announced that it had taken over
Maytag’s Hoover vacuum cleaner division. Whirlpool closed its takeover of Maytag in March, after passing an extended Justice Department anti-trust review. Hoover was acquired as part of its US$1.68 billion purchase of
Maytag Corp. The company operates under the premium brands Maytag, Jenn-Air, and the lower-end brands
Magic Chef, Amana and Admiral. It operates mainly in the United States, but has sales subsidiaries in Canada,
Australia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.
Maytag Corp traces its roots back to 1893 when
F.L. Maytag began manufacturing farm implements in
Newton, Iowa. In order to offset seasonal slumps in demand he introduced a wooden-tub washing machine in 1907. The company diversified into cooking appliances and refrigerators after the Second World War in
1946. It introduced its first automatic washing machine in 1949, and its first portable dishwashers in 1966.
One of the most famous brands in the vacuum cleaner industry – Hoover – dates back to 1907, when it was developed by the Hoover family in Canton, Ohio. The
Hoover Company began selling its products worldwide in 1921. Maytag took over the Hoover brand in 1989 when they merged with Chicago Pacific Corporation. In
1995, Maytag sold the European Hoover operations to the Italian appliance manufacturer Candy. In 2008,
Hoover and Dirt Devil were taken over by TTI Floor
Care Birth America and its subsidiary, Royal Appliance
Manufacturing Co.
In the vacuum cleaner sector, Whirlpool operates only under the Hoover brand, which has a strong heritage and is the leading brand in the US market. Hoover manufactures a wide range of vacuum cleaners, including uprights, canisters, stick and hand-held vacuums, hard surface cleaners, extractors and other home care products.

In mid-2006 Whirlpool Corp. sold the Hoover vacuum cleaner business. The Hoover brand, with its 3,000 employees, did not fit with Whirlpool’s core products – laundry, refrigeration and kitchen equipment.

Distribution of vacuum cleaners
The situation in Dyson’s domestic market, the UK, is as follows. Department stores are the most popular source of small electrical goods in the UK, with many trusted names (e.g. Co-op Home Stores and John Lewis) who are able to stock a sufficient variety of competitively priced goods to attract consumer loyalty. Their share has increased slightly over recent years, as department stores in general have become more fashionable again.
Specialist multiples have the second largest share, although not far behind are the independents which have a larger share of the small electrical appliances market than they do of large appliances. Smaller high street stores in small- and medium-sized towns attract buyers of small electrical appliances, like vacuum cleaners, because consumers are less motivated to drive to a retail park for these items, than they are say, for a fridge.
Grocery multiples, such as Tesco and Asda, sell vacuum cleaners and generally offer advantageous deals on a narrow range of goods. Catalogue showrooms such as Argos also benefited from increasing their range and from low pricing and online shopping facilities.
Distribution of vacuum cleaners has become hugely extensive, with supermarkets and grocery stores stocking the cheaper to mid-end of the market. For electrical retailers still selling smaller items, their domain lies more in the pricier, higher-end of the market.
The distribution of vacuum cleaners in most other major countries is limited principally to specialist ‘household appliance’ store chains and department stores.
Huge retail chains like Electric City, Best Buy and
Sears increasingly dominate the distribution of vacuum cleaners in United States.

Production moved to Malaysia
In recent years, Dyson has decided to move most of its vacuum cleaner production from the United Kingdom to the Far East (Malaysia).
Although Dyson is still a leading vacuum cleaner brand, it is beginning to lose out to cheaper machines that have developed their own bagless technology.
The dilemma they face is dropping its own prices or reinforcing the power and quality of the brand. The loyalty of Dyson’s customers has dropped off and the company’s market share in UK by volume has also decreased. M17_HOLL6227_05_SE_C17.qxd

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Introduction of the Dyson Airblade
In 2008 Dyson released a new type of hand dryer, the
Dyson Airblade. Dyson claims that it dries hands in
10 seconds, that it is more cost-effective for energy usage than traditional hot air blower hand dryers, and is more environmentally friendly, saving 83 per cent in energy in comparison to conventional hand dryers. Based on
200 uses a day for 365 days a year, the Airblade would cost £30 to operate for that full year.
The end customers for the product are primarily hotels, restaurants, big enterprises, institutions, airports etc. In United States alone there are approximately
20 million toilets outside private homes. US paper towel sales are US$2 billion, while the hand dryer market is about US$54 million. Dyson aims to steal market share from the makers of both products.
The end price for the Dyson Airblade is approximately
£1,000 (exclusive of installation and sales tax).

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more environmentally friendly. These machines are now commonly used in British supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda, replacing older, less efficient dryers such as those made by World Dryer Corporation.
An American company, American Dryer, has also developed a high-speed hand dryer with a 10-second drying time. The eXtremeAir is also economical at a cost of US$390 US. It works by blasting a user’s hands with a stream of heated air at 185 mph. This breaks up the surface tension of the water for quick removal and evaporation. It uses about 80 per cent less energy than conventional hand dryers which require
2,300 watts of electrical power for 30–40 seconds.
Interestingly, a Taiwanese company, Hokwang Industries, makes high-speed hand dryer that is not only fast but also more entertaining and multifunctional.
They have integrated high brightness LED lights to hand dryers to increase the ease and delight of use.
The sensor of hand dryer can project a blue light which allows user to see the sensing range.
In New Zealand innovative company Eco Global markets the ecodrier which cleans the hands in under
10 seconds with four separate filter systems.
World Dryer have also released a two high-speed hand dryers. These are ‘Airforce’ and ‘Airmax’. The
‘Airmax’ claims to be the quietest hand dryer in its class and to dry your hands in just 15 seconds; the ‘Airforce’ claims to use 80 per cent less power than a conventional hand dryer and dry your hands quickly.
Sources: www.dyson.com; www.electrolux.com; www.mielevacuums.com; www.seb.com; www.hoover.com.
Horovitz, B. (2007) ‘Vacuum leader Dyson sets sights on hand dryer market’ USA Today, 18 June 2007, http://www.usatoday.com/money/ industries/manufacturing/2007-06-17-dyson-usat_N.htm; http:// news.bbc.co.uk, Marsh, P. (2006), ‘A 10-year struggle to clean up in the appliance market’, Financial Times, 27 June, p. 26.

QUESTIONS
1. Until now Dyson has concentrated its efforts in the
United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and
Australia. In your opinion, which new international markets should be allocated more marketing resources, in order to develop them into future
Dyson growth markets?
Courtesy of Dyson.

Dyson Airblade competition
The Dyson Airblade is similar to the Mitsubishi Jet
Towel, which uses a similar design and technology. The
Jet Towel has been used in Japanese bathrooms since
1997. Another UK company, Excel Dryer Ltd, have also released a similar machine; XLerator, advertised as being 98 per cent cheaper than paper towels, and

2. In the US market Dyson achieved its market share by moving into the mass retail channels, like Electric
City and Best Buy. Some industry specialists are critical of this the long-term strategy for Dyson’s high-priced product. Evaluate the Dyson distribution strategy in the US market.
3. Do you think that James Dyson can repeat the international vacuum cleaner success with the hand-dryer market with its Dyson Airblade? Why? Why not?