Jim Rowan leads British tech firm Dyson’s efforts to offer smart appliances to Chinese consumers
Jim Rowan, CEO of British technology company Dyson, plans to grow the number of stores from 710 in 50 Chinese cities this year to 1,000 by 2020.
There’s growing demand in China for smart, connected household appliances, he says.
Responding to the increased affluence of the Chinese people, the country’s ongoing consumption upgrade and the younger generation’s strong purchasing power, Dyson introduced three products in China recently – a dust-cleaning robot, an air-purifier that can blow hot or cold air, and a desk lamp with a 60-year life and capability to support the user’s body clock. All of them made it to market in mid-September.
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Jim Rowan, CEO of British technology company Dyson, has visited China frequently since taking charge of the company in October last year. Provided to China Daily |
“Even though we have managed robust sales in China so far, we found that Chinese customers are incredibly inquisitive and hungry for information. They want to embrace new technologies and are fairly open to disruptive products,” he says. “Therefore, we must act fast to seize all the market opportunities to retain robust growth.”
Rowan has visited China frequently ever since he was named the company’s global chief executive in October last year.
He says that in addition to launching vacuum cleaners and environmental control machines, Dyson will seek to boost sales of other products in China, such as heaters and electronic beauty products.
“After five years of development, we think the Belt and Road Initiative has drastically cut the time to trade goods between Asia and Europe. The advantage in logistics is obvious,” said Rowan, who previously served for five years as Dyson’s chief operations officer.
About 35 percent of Dyson’s components come from China and are shipped to the company’s plants in Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia and the Philippines. Supported by more than 350 employees, the company’s head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company’s workforce will be expanded further, Rowan says.
Eager to understand more about China, as well as helping China understand Dyson, the company opened a new technology lab in Shanghai last year. Dyson’s research and development center followed a 200 percent sales surge in China.
The R&D unit is part of the company’s ￡2.5 billion ($3.2 billion; 2.2 billion euros) global expansion plan, evidence of Dyson’s increasingly fruitful dealings in Asian markets.
With China becoming its second-largest market by sales after the United States, Dyson’s annual turnover surged by 40 percent year-on-year to $4.82 billion in 2017, yielding a profit of $1.1 billion, up by 27 percent year-on-year. It has more than 11,750 employees globally, including more than 4,450 scientists and researchers.
Rowan says Dyson Demo – a space engineered to encourage visitors to pick up, test and experience the company’s products – is focused on Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou. The company also has boutique stores in these cities and two in Guangzhou.
About 10 million product demonstrations will be given by Dyson employees at its retail outlets this year.
Besides deploying resources in top-tier cities, Dyson plans to open 19 shops in Chengdu, Tianjin, Chongqing, Qingdao and Wuxi next year.
The company, which is headquartered in Wiltshire, southern England, has discovered that, unlike markets in Japan and Europe, where people still prefer to visit a store to select products, half its business transactions in China are completed on e-commerce platforms using smartphones.
“As we grow in China, so must our ability to localize apps and software, bringing technology online quicker than ever before,” says Tom Bennett, head of Dyson Shanghai Technology Lab. “As a country, China is right at the forefront of an intelligent machine revolution, so we will be seeking its brightest minds to join us in shaping the connected Dyson technology of the future.”
Rowan says he hopes Dyson will export electric cars around 2021. The company says it will invest $256 million to create labs and more than 16 kilometers of test road by the end of August.
The facility will be established at the former Hullavington Airfield in England. The company will inject $2.6 billion in the electric vehicle project over the next few years. It expects the first car to roll off the production line in 2021.
Even though the prices of foreign brands are higher than those of domestic ones, well-known brands such as Dyson command loyal fans in China.
The trend is boosted by China’s huge consumer base, a fast-growing e-commerce business, fast 4G networks and the expected launch of 5G networks in the near future, says Sun Fuquan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development.
Rowan started his electronics career in 1986 as a manufacturing engineer, after majoring in mechanical and production engineering, and electrical and electronic engineering, at Glasgow Caledonian University and the Glasgow School of Technology respectively. He likes to play tennis with his four children, ages 13 to 21 during his spare time.
( China Daily European Weekly 11/02/2018 page30)