Partner Article

Electrical appliance giant, SharkNinja, invests in British innovation

SharkNinja, the UK’s fastest-growing vacuum cleaner brand, is launching a major investment in the British market as part of a global expansion campaign.

Matt Broadway has been appointed European President of the premium technology brand, which is significantly increasing its R & D team in the UK as it invests in British engineering and innovation. SharkNinja, the number one company in the US floorcare market, with a global workforce of 1700, is now developing new products exclusively for the UK market. Acknowledging the excellence of British engineering, it will also begin to develop some US products from the UK.

Broadway, 43, is the former Group Commercial Director of Dyson, where he was responsible for all air care products, and spearheaded the company’s growth in the Japanese and Asian markets. He is one of several senior Dyson staff who have joined SharkNinja in the UK, including Jamie Madath, Vice-President of Retail Sales for Europe.

SharkNinja is committed to expanding its market share in the UK and Europe and is predicting £450m of growth from these markets by investing in innovation and technology to improve the customer experience and create five-star rated products. Dozens of new jobs are being created at the company’s R & D centre in London to focus on new product development and SharkNinja is taking advantage of the UK’s renowned engineering teaching, hiring the best emerging talent.

The company has a target of achieving 25% of turnover from new products being launched in the next 12 months and its engineers at three international hubs in London, Boston and Suzhou, China, work collaboratively around the clock in different time zones. This allows rapid product development from concept to completion.

SharkNinja is the number one upright vacuum brand in the US and went from a 1% market share in 2010 to a 35% market share in 2017. The company launched in the UK in 2014 where it is cementing its technology leadership position in the floorcare market, with its unique Duo Clean technology. A ‘Real People, Real Results’ advertising campaign, which recently launched on television and in print, focuses on the popularity of its corded upright products, using customer testimonials. It is continuing to invest in its corded range, where there is still a market for premium products, such as its Powered Lift-Away with Duo Clean, as well as developing cutting-edge cordless products, such as the Shark Cordless vacuum with DuoClean.

SharkNinja conducts extensive research to understand the needs of individual markets and is now launching in China after two years of extensive research into the Chinese market, including consumer insight surveys and R & D.

The company’s entry into the Chinese market and expansion in the UK are part of an over-arching strategy to create localized products for different markets, offering the best experience to all its consumers by developing customer-focused products that adapt to their living habits.

Matt Broadway said:

“I am delighted to have joined SharkNinja, the UK’s fastest-growing vacuum cleaner brand, at such an exciting time. We aim to become the UK market leader in vacuum cleaner products and are investing heavily in engineering and technology so we can give consumers a real choice of premium products specifically designed for British homes.

“I want to reinforce Ninja’s position as the leading motorised blender and cooking brand in the UK, the first choice for kitchen counter-top products and state of the art Kitchen System appliances. Our products are designed to make our customers’ lives easier and we see a real opportunity to achieve significant growth in this market”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by James Oliver .