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?

It is highly unlikely that James Dyson will repeat the international vacuum cleaner success with the Dyson Airblade hand-dryer. The main reason is that a vacuum cleaner is a domestic product and the majority of households cater for one. The Dyson Airblade is a device found mainly in public washrooms. It would be too expensive for a household to install a Dyson Airblade as cheaper means exist. However there are approximately 19.5 million toilets outside private homes and therefore we feel that the Airblade can still be hugely successful and gain a substantial share of the market. 1 The main customers for the Airblade are hotels, restaurants, big enterprises, institutions and airports.2 When Dysons vacuum cleaner was introduced to the market there was no other bag less vacuum cleaners. It was a unique product with a huge demand. However with the introduction of the Airblade, it has had to with stand more sterner competition with products very similar already in the market. I will discuss why I feel James Dyson cannot repeat the same international vacuum success with the Airblade; however I will note the reasons why I believe the Airblade can still prove a success.

The Dyson Vacuum cleaner was introduced into the market at a time when vacuum cleaners performed poorly and users were frequently frustrated with poor suction. Dyson came up with the solution and developed the Root 8 Cyclone, which removes more dust by using eight cyclones.3 His vacuum cleaner could separate dust by cyclonic action and spin it out of the airstream which eliminated the need for both bag and filter. There was a huge market for this new invention worldwide. His breakthrough into the UK market came in an advertising campaign when he stated that, unlike most of his rivals, his new vacuum cleaner did not require the continuing purchase of replacement bags. He used the slogan of say goodbye to the bag and this proved more attractive to the public than a previous emphasis on the suction efficiency that its technology delivers. 4 There was a huge demand for his bag less vacuum cleaner and in 2008 alone the companys sales reached 700 million with almost all sales coming from vacuum cleaners.5 The number of households which are predominately carpeted that own a vacuum is very 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. 6 It is an extremely popular appliance and one which households would find very difficult to do without. We believe that the Airblade will be internationally successful for the following number of reasons but not on the same scale as the Dyson vacuum cleaner. The Airblade is simply the fastest and most hygienic hand-dryer. It dries hands in 12 seconds, is more cost-effective for
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2007-06-17-dyson-usat_N.htm Hollensen. Svend, Global Marketing A Decision-oriented Approach (Pearson Education Limited, 2011) 3 Hollensen. Svend, Global Marketing A Decision-oriented Approach (Pearson Education Limited, 2011) 4 http://dysonpricechecker.com/ 5 Hollensen. Svend, Global Marketing A Decision-oriented Approach (Pearson Education Limited, 2011) 6 Hollensen. Svend, Global Marketing A Decision-oriented Approach (Pearson Education Limited, 2011)
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energy usage than traditional hot air blower hand dryers and is more environmentally friendly.7 The product was reviewed by Australian food technologists in accordance with hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) Australias Food Safety Certification Programme, with their approval to see the first entry of a hand dryer into food handling areas in.8 99.9 per cent of bacteria are removed from the air used to try your hands. Its better for the environment than paper towels. Paper towels are expensive and bad for the environment. Using one Dyson Airblade hand dryer for 1 year saves 146,000 paper towels from being produced, used and disposed of.9 There is immediate savings and it can help reduce an organisations carbon footprint. The Airblade received numerous global awards after its launch. It was the winner of the Best Workplace Product Innovation, the society of food and hygiene awarded it the best new product and it won the energy efficient product B2B award. It is also most importantly the only hand dryer compliant with the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) protocol P335 for hygienic hand dryers.10

However the main reason why we feel that it will not be as successful internationally as the vacuum cleaner is the fact that there is stronger competition. The Airblade is similar to the Mitsubishi Jet Towel, which uses a similar design and technology. The Jet towel has been up and running since 1997. Another UK company, Excel Dryer Ltd, have released a similar machine called Xlerator and it claims to be 98 per cent cheaper than paper towels, and more economically friendly. These particular machines are being used in Tesco and Asda. An American company, American Dryer has manufactured a high-speed dryer named eXtremeAir costing US$390 with a 10 second drying time. In New Zealand Eco Global, markets their product the ecodrier which cleans hands in less than 10 seconds with four separate filter systems. World Dryer have developed two high-speed hand dryers called Airforce which claims to use 80 per cent less power than a conventional dryer and dry your hands fast and Airmax which claims it is the quickest hand dryer in its class.11 We have no doubt that with the brand name Dyson and the high regard it is held will ensure the Airblade success. However we feel that the competition that exists in the hand dryer market is so intense the Airblade which costs 1,000 exclusive of installation and sales tax will not be able to enjoy the same success that the vacuum cleaner experienced internationally.

http://www.dyson.com/technology/airblade.asp http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/20090812/dyson-airblade-hand-dryer-gets-haccp-green-light-into-foodindustry.htm 9 http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2009/08/13/dyson-airblade-hand-dryer-gets-haccp-green-light-into-foodindustry.html 10 http://www.ecobuy.org.au/uploads/documents/Dyson%20Airblade%20Feb%2009.pdf 11 Hollensen. Svend, Global Marketing A Decision-oriented Approach (Pearson Education Limited, 2011) P.647
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