SharkNinja said it plans to ‘out-innovate’ its bigger rival, Dyson, currently the UK market leader in premium vacuum cleaners, as it launched a new cordless floorcare range in the UK earlier this month.
The ambitious US vacuum cleaner firm, which is committed to growing in the UK and in Europe, launched a new upright and handheld vacuum cleaner.
The DuoClean Cordless Upright with Powered Lift-Away is an upright vacuum, which has a 50-minute run time from a single charge of its lithium-ion battery.
It has a detachable pod, which allows customers to convert their upright into a cordless portable vacuum cleaner with the same amount of power. It retails for £449.99 and will be sold exclusively through Currys PC World and directly online from Shark until March 19.
The firm has also launched a new handheld vacuum cleaner with a 10-minute cleaning time per charge. The firm said it “tackles pet hair, dust and crumbs with ease”. It is available in a single-battery and twin-battery version and costs from £129.99.
It will initially be sold through major retailers, including Currys, AO, Amazon and Argos, but SharkNinja said it would be focusing on the independent market next year once the products had more brand recognition.
The products include an added level of filtration and offer a lighter experience for the customer without sacrificing on power, the firm said.
New European president for SharkNinja Matt Broadway (pictured) said independent retailers would be very important to the success of the brand, adding that the firm would also continue to invest in corded vacuum cleaners unlike its bigger rival Dyson.
At the launch of its latest cordless product, the Dyson Cyclone V10, founder Sir James Dyson said it would not be making any new corded models and would focus its research and development on new technologies to improve its cordless range.
Mr Broadway told ERT: “We will continue to innovate in our corded range and out-innovate Dyson on cordless.
“In August, we reached 25 per cent market share of the premium vacuum cleaner market in the UK, so we are making inroads.”
SharkNinja confirmed that it would be investing £150 million in the UK over the next three years and doubling its research and development base in London, hiring British engineers.
Mr Broadway said the firm operates a 24-hour design process, with engineers in Boston and Suzhou, in China, working collaboratively around the clock in different time zones to accelerate product to market.
Customer panels give feedback from the first week of the product concept and only products given five-star ratings are launched.
SharkNinja also launched a blender range featuring vacuum technology, which blends ingredients evenly and reduces the oxidation process by pumping oxygen out while locking vitamins in. This, it said, results in a health drink that is visibly brighter and has less separation.
It will be available in November and costs from £129.99.
