Dyson Expands Into Air Purifiers

An illustration of air purifier Dyson Pure Cool

 

Dyson Ltd.

Dyson Ltd., the British maker of bagless vacuum cleaners and bladeless fans, plans to use its flair for finding the unconventional in conventional appliances to expand into a new area: air purifiers.

Dyson Pure Cool fans will be available first in Japan, where the company has a strong brand profile and consumers are willing to pay a premium for the highest quality products, on April 28.

Its main selling point: Dyson engineers say their latest product can catch PM0.1, a particle that is much smaller than its more famous cousin PM2.5. While Japanese appliance makers already offer a wide range of air purifiers capable of catching substances as small as PM0.1, Dyson claims its product is more efficient.

In Japan, air purifiers have become a common household item as a great number of people suffer from hay fever in the spring and there are growing worries about yellow dust flying over from China. According to research firm Euromonitor International, Japan’s air purifier market has expanded by more than three times over the past 14 years, and is expected to keep growing. Sharp Corp. is the market leader, holding almost half of the market, followed by Panasonic Corp. and Daikin Industries Ltd.

Dyson has been selling its ultra-quiet bladeless fans in Japan since 2010, but the pricey fans have yet to gain a solid foothold in the world’s third-largest economy. That compares with Dyson’s vacuum business, which is a rare example of a foreign consumer electronics maker making a success in the country that is home to many global electronics brands. Its DC-vacuum series has the fifth-largest share in Japan in terms of volume, and Dyson is the only first-tier vacuum provider in the country whose sales have increased over the past few years, Euromonitor data show.

At a news conference Tuesday, Dyson also said it would open its first directly managed store in Tokyo’s ritzy Omotesando neighborhood, where many Italian and French luxury brands have flagship stores.

For Dyson, Japan is its second-largest market after the U.S. and it says–as a sign of respect–that Tokyo is where it has unveiled its new products globally in recent years.

While release dates or pricing for other markets have not yet been announced, the Dyson Pure Cool will retail for ¥65,000 ($535).