Dyson, often referred to as the "Apple of the home appliance industry", is experiencing a downturn in its revenue capabilities.
Recently, Dyson's UK headquarters released its 2024 performance report, reporting an annual revenue of £6.6 billion, a year-on-year drop of 7.04% from £7.1 billion in 2023. The company’s pre-tax profit for 2024 stood at £561 million, representing a nearly 49% decrease compared to the previous year—almost a halving. This marks the first decline in revenue for Dyson in 22 years, with the last drop occurring in 2002.
In the domestic market, both online and offline sales of Dyson products have shown signs of weakness. According to a sales list of popular hair dryers from a major e-commerce platform, not a single Dyson product made it to the top 10. In the vacuum cleaner category, Dyson occupies two positions, but its total sales are significantly behind local brands such as Midea.
Missing Rankings, Lagging Behind Domestic Brands In light of the dismal 2024 fiscal performance, Dyson's CEO Hanno Kirner articulated that “2024 is a challenging but necessary transitional year for Dyson” in response to the revenue decline. He specifically noted that in 2024, Dyson’s sales “reached an all-time high” with over 20 million units sold globally. However, this sales increase did not translate into growth in revenue and profit.
According to financial data provided by The Telegraph, this marks Dyson’s first revenue decline since 2002. Due to Dyson’s lack of an IPO, its financial data is not fully transparent, and Dyson China has not responded to inquiries regarding this 22-year milestone decline. Nevertheless, a comprehensive review of company announcements and multiple industry analysis reports reveals that The Telegraph's financial figures largely align with Dyson’s historical performance.
Hanno Kirner attributed the decline in revenue and profits primarily to “one-off issues” such as reduced consumer confidence, global business restructuring (including layoffs), and currency fluctuations in regions like Asia. However, setting aside these so-called "one-off issues", the rise of brands like Roborock and Ecovacs in China, along with the rapid growth of Midea and Lefan’s hair dryer product lines, are becoming long-term variables that threaten Dyson’s market share and profit margins.
For instance, upon examining changes in market share for Dyson hair dryers in China, the company led the introduction of high-speed hair dryers in 2016, clinching over 80% market share in the premium hair dryer segment priced above ¥3000. Reports indicate that Chinese consumers contributed to 70% of Dyson's global sales. However, in 2022, on domestic e-commerce platforms, nearly 30 out of every 100 hair dryers sold were Dyson products.
Nevertheless, with local brands like Lefan and Roborock, along with others like Midea and Haier, introducing competitively priced hair dryer products that perform equally well or better than Dyson, the company’s market share has rapidly declined. According to research from China International Capital Corporation, Dyson's online market share in China’s high-end hair dryer segment had plummeted to 7% in the first half of 2024. On major e-commerce platforms such as JD.com and Taobao, Dyson's key products, including hair dryers and vacuum cleaners, are now lagging behind their domestic counterparts in sales.
Observation: Fewer Customers Than Domestic Brands During visits to multiple Dyson official retail stores and counters in Beijing, a striking observation was made: the foot traffic at Dyson stores was noticeably lower than that at nearby Roborock and Ecovacs outlets. During the short visits, several customers entered the Roborock and Ecovacs stores to inquire about prices and experience the products, while no customers entered the Dyson store throughout the entire observation period.
(A visit to Dyson’s Changping and Haidian district stores captured on site) “Their products are too expensive, and they seem to perform comparably to domestic alternatives, with some even lagging behind local products. I simply cannot afford them!” said a user who had previously purchased a Dyson hair dryer during a conversation. From their perspective, while Dyson products might represent a certain style, they no longer seem to be the “best choice” in terms of practicality and cost-effectiveness.
Another industry insider pointed out, “Dyson's vacuum cleaners and mop machines currently lack a self-cleaning feature, which is standard across mainstream domestic brands.” According to this individual, Dyson’s initial success in the Chinese market was primarily due to the appealing design of its hair dryers and vacuum cleaners, along with its leading technological edge in motor development. However, with local competitors rapidly catching up in motor technology and mimicking Dyson’s designs, a surge of products matching Dyson in both appearance and performance yet significantly cheaper has emerged in the market.
In the view of this insider, the crux of technology for both hair dryers and mop machines lies in the motor, with speed being a core performance factor—the higher the speed, the better the cleaning or drying effect. Domestic brands like Roborock and Lefan have excelled in this area. Amid the consumer trend towards value for money, buyers are increasingly prioritizing cost-effectiveness, leading to rising acceptance of domestic brands and thus eroding Dyson’s market share.
“Currently, some cleaning appliance companies, including ours, rarely study Dyson products during product research and feature comparison. Dyson has ceased to be regarded as a genuine competitor, and its sales can no longer compete,” the individual lamented.
Expert Commentary: Fewer ‘Surprises’ from Products In the home appliance industry, Dyson is uniquely dubbed the “Apple of home appliances.” Apart from its premium pricing, Dyson is known for its product innovation, developing highly acclaimed products such as vacuum cleaners and mop machines based on user needs—a key factor in its appeal to high-end users.
However, following the successful launches of its vacuum cleaners and high-speed hair dryers, Dyson's ventures into other products, such as the Dyson Zone air-purifying headphones and OnTrac noise-canceling headphones, have received lukewarm responses. In recent years, the surprises Dyson brings to consumers have dwindled.
Meanwhile, the once-stalwart product lines of vacuum cleaners and hair dryers now face intense competition from numerous domestic and international players, further exacerbating the declines in both revenue and profit for the company.
According to Ding Shaojiang, Chief Analyst at GKURC Industry Research Institute, “The emergence of lower-priced alternatives reflects a shift in consumer perceptions. In an era of increasing transparency brought by the internet, young consumers are becoming more rational and no longer blindly trust single brands.” Furthermore, “some alternative products not only match the technological standards of high-end brands but also offer comparable user experiences, coupled with substantial price advantages, thus positioning themselves as ‘high-end alternatives’ in the eyes of consumers.”
As the competition catches up in technology and user experience, a new breed of “high-end brands” is emerging alongside Dyson. As Dyson struggles with slowing innovation and speed, how to maintain its premium image, which many consumers now perceive simply as “high price,” is becoming a significant challenge.
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