Sir James Dyson puts on Dyson product launch with a
difference: Sydney, Australia...
Sir James Dyson, the British billionaire industrial designer
(not to be confused with Tony Stark from Iron Man - Marvel Comics fame) who
invented the dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, has just finished hosting his
fabulous launch event at the Sydney Theatre Co Ltd, Pier 4.
It's understood he took a fair swipe at "competitor)
robot vacuums as "pathetic" with poor suction and no navigating
skills. Yes, the others suck - but not in a good way.
A lot of the (product) attention was on his latest product, a
tap that can also dry your hands in about 12 seconds. Dyson, who rocketed his
company to nearly 4000 staff and $1.5 billion in annual sales, advised he would
only launch a robot vacuum when he got it right.
New product snapshot - the Dyson hybrid dryer-tap...
Robot models launched in Australia recently include the $399
Robomaid, LG's Roboking range ($549-$1149) and Samsung's $999 Navibot. Dyson
didn't name and shame but was dismissive of the current lot, criticising their
navigation and efficiency which meant they offered poor battery performance and
cleaning ability.
"They've got whiskers sticking out of them – whiskers
don't clean anything they just disturb the birds," he told Fairfax Media.
"It's a difficult job and I'm not rushing out a gimmick
robot to pretend to people we're cleaning the floor, we're not doing that we're
doing it properly."
Robomaid is one of the robot vacuums on the market.
Despite coming up with his vacuum cleaner breakthrough in
the late 1970s, it only reached the British market 10 years later, and Dyson is
now a global market leader. A third of British homes now have a Dyson.
The company has also launched other innovations such as
bladeless fans and an "Airblade" hand dryer that uses jets of air to
scrape the water off the hands. The same sort of technology but with a far more
advanced motor ("three times faster than any electric motor has gone
before") powers the new hybrid dryer-taps.
Dyson has wrestled for years to prevent companies copying
his designs, winning a $5 million damages award from Hoover in 2000. Now, the
main offenders are out of Asia and Dyson thinks intellectual property
protection is weaker because people are getting away with copying.
"Koreans and the Chinese are copying things and I think
it's very bad," he said. "It's said by certain people that that
increases competition, actually it decreases competition because all they're
doing is copying the market leader."
He said the copycat companies could produce cheaper products
because they haven't incurred all the development costs and associated risks.
"It's morally wrong, I think it's legally wrong and I
think it hurts the consumers because the consumer doesn't get a choice,"
he said. "Intellectual property should be supported better; the law should
be made stronger."
In October last year Dyson filed a lawsuit alleging a
"spy" employee stole the blueprints to a £100 million ($149.7
million) technology and passed them to rival Bosch.
Dyson said western countries such as Australia and Britain
need to focus on educating more scientists and engineers, as they are
increasingly being overtaken by countries in Asia.
"40 per cent of all graduates from Singapore are
engineers," he said. "For Britain, Australia, the US and other
European countries to compete in any way they've got to heavily arm themselves
with technology."
Classy event in Sydney...
It wasn't a cheap and nasty event, as is too often the case
with product launches. Dyson impressed with wit, goodwill and loads of
great food and drinks, which looked and tasted 5 star. It was a great vibe and
news media was treated with respect, friendliness and delicious treats.
How could we not share the story and photos far and wide across media and
internet - which was no doubt another masterstroke by the colourful billionaire
and his brains trust. If you have the budget - Dysons' are well worth a
close look.
Websites
Dyson Australia
Eva Rinaldi Photography