Cordcutters and Handhelds on trend in AR’s Ultimate Floorcare Guide for 2015

This author is on Twitter: @Patrickavenell

• The canister and upright markets are expected to decline with increasing sales expected in the handheld categories.
• It’s important to stress the need for two vacuum cleaners: one for the major cleaners and another for spot cleaning.
• Australians hate cords! Any cleaner that does away with cords and has a reliable, long-lasting battery will be much loved.

It’s an exciting time at British floorcare brand Dyson. As Australians gradually shift their vacuuming purchasing habits from the larger, corded canisters and uprights to the nimbler, more convenient cordless options available, Dyson has managed to secure just under 80 per cent of the value of cordless market, while also claiming to be only brand growing share in the declining full-size market.

Managing director Glenn Andrew attributed this performance to Dyson’s commitment to demonstration, both by its own consultants and trained floor staff.

“People understand Dyson technology if they can see the machine used in real life,” he said. “Encourage people to test out the machine in-store on big debris or microscopic dust. Most vacuum cleaners suck up one or the other, leaving either crevices full of dust, or piles of Cheerios snow ploughed to the wall.

“Dyson’s latest cordless machine reinvents the way you tackle dirt, big and small, ensuring particles of all sizes are sucked up and flung into the bin.”

It’s an important market for Dyson, and the other suppliers, as research reveals only 10 per cent of Australian homes currently have a handheld vac, meaning there is plenty of opportunity to grow penetration rates.

And that machine is the V6 Absolute, the new flagship cordless vac from the new V6 range, which will be replacing the DCXX handheld range over the coming weeks. “The power of our patented V6 Dyson Digital Motor, combined with our revolutionised cleaner head, means the V6 Absolute can tackle dust and those pesky cereals.” This model is also the first to include two Dyson engineered heads: a soft roller, which is ideal for hard floors; and the Motorhead. The V6 Absolute has HEPA Filtration to pick up 99.97 per cent of particles.

“We’re supporting retailers with an exciting packaging of marketing activities to launch the Dyson V6 cordless range,” Andrew continued. “We’re investing heavily in an integrated campaign that will bring people in-store to test out the Dyson V6 cordless machines.”

Dyson’s major pitch to retailers centres on the effort it is going to to add value to the category through marketing and below-the-line support. Even its rivals have been complimentary, with Miele ANZ managing director Michael Jeanes last year saying the German brand’s sales restructure was influenced in part by Dyson’s strong showing. Andrew said this focus on-the-floor pressure will not relent.

“We’re working hard to deliver growth for retailers who back Dyson. By investing in the category, Dyson is only vacuum cleaner growing full-size, bucking the trend in a declining market.

“With the launch of Dyson V6 cordless range on the horizon, we’re going to continue to explode the cordless vacuum market. For retailers, the new range offers much without cannibalising full-size.”

Chris Egan, the Oceania managing director of American brand Bissell, agrees that floorcare growth exists more in the newer form factors that the traditional canisters.

“Floorcare continues to be the largest segment within small domestic appliances in Australia, exhibiting a strong consistent growth trend,” he said. “While dominated by traditional canister vacuums, recent growth in floorcare has been generated by new and emerging sub-segments; especially those with a convenience focus such as battery-powered stick and robot products.

“These sub-segments significantly exceed one third of the overall floorcare market and are expected to continue to grow as consumers seek more convenient, effective and ‘ready-to-go’ products that deliver long battery run time, as pioneered by the Bissell AirRam.”

Bissell’s new cordless solution is the Bolt Ion (RRP from $249), which includes a removable handvac.

Swedish floorcare powerhouse Electrolux fancies itself as a vacuuming all-rounder, marketing bagged and bagless cleaners in small and large, corded and cordless form factors under its UltraFlex, UltraOne, Ergorapido, UltraPower and Rapido sub-brands. Marketing manager Michelle Rossier said 100 years of innovation and research goes into these vacuums; a heritage that retailers should be communicating to customers.

“The future of floorcare lies in a stronger focus on benefits for consumers, and convenience in cleaning is absolutely crucial following performance,” Rossier said. “Electrolux is the global leader in innovation and were the creators of the stick vacuum category back in 2004, with many competitors having since followed this lead.

“Cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore anymore and Electrolux is here to make life easy with thoughtfully designed products that meet both consumer needs and wants.”

Jennifer Osborne, marketing manager for home appliances at LG Electronics, said the vacuum cleaner category is one of only a handful of growth categories within the home appliance market. “Amongst the vacuum category, the major growth segments in 2014 were robotics and handsticks,” she said. “We expect these segments will continue to grow as more Australians will be purchasing these types of secondary vacuums.”

LG’s research into vacuuming in Australia reveals that the cord is the major pain point with consumers.  Because of this, LG is fast tracking to Australia its CordZero range of canister and stickvacs, which complement its existing cordless cleaner, the Roboking Square.

Miele remains committed to bagged technology, which it sees as a truly unrivalled solution for air hygiene. “It is crucial that retailers highlight the advantages that distinguish vacuum cleaners with bagged technology and why they are the best choice especially for those who suffer from allergies,” said floorcare product manager Sharon May.

In addition to its bagged cleaning narrative, Miele will be focusing on the attachment story through the first half of 2015, asking retailer to focus on how different tools can help make the broad cleaning chore more efficient.

“It is important to educate consumers about the benefits of quality vacuum cleaner models that offer outstanding filtration and dirt disposal, as well as the range of accessories that will optimise cleaning performance depending on specific needs,” May said. “Miele offers a host of features and optional accessories to deliver remarkable convenience and perfectly match any type of home and lifestyle.”

Miele’s range of vacuums starts with the Classic Family All-rounder (S 8310, RRP $529) and goes up to the magnificent Premium S8 UniQ (S 8590, RRP $1,199).

Samsung agrees with Miele on the importance of accessories and says there is a worrying trend of consumers being confused or ignorant about the advantages they offer.

“We have noticed a lack of awareness from some customers around choice of selection of floorcare accessories that are designed to enhance cleaning when it comes to specific needs in the home,” a Samsung floorcare spokesperson said. “Vacuum accessories can play an integral role in ensuring that a satisfactory clean is achieved, especially when unique home fittings, furniture or room designs present a challenge, or when cleaning different surfaces in the home like plush carpet or hard tile floors.”

Another point Samsung stresses is the difference between primary and secondary vacuuming devices, such as between its PowerBot vacuum range and its more thorough Motion Sync canister and upright models. “The key is to use mobile and primary vacuums in tandem,” the Korean company said.

The newest product to join the Vax Air Cordless line-up will be the Air Cordless Lift, a full-size powerful vacuum with a lift away canister for convenient home cleaning, explained Sarah Stringer, assistant brand manager at distributor Techntronic Industries. “Stair cleaning can be a challenge and frustration for many, but thanks to the lift-away canister, with no cords to get in the way, stairs and above the floor cleaning has become infinitely easier.”

We asked some of the leading brands in this category to provide some real life sales tips to help retail staff match the right floorcare appliance with the right customer:

Sales Tips with the Experts…

Always use open-ended questions that can help develop the sale further – for instance by uncovering the needs of the consumer – it will help you make a recommendation.  A simple six step approach that can be employed when uncovering the needs of the customer, is:

What — do they need to clean?
When — and how often do they clean?
Who — does the cleaning?
How — is the cleaning done?
Why — allergies, pets, kids, general?
Where — what part of the house needs cleaning?

…with Chris Egan from Bissell

Sales Tips with the Experts…

Start by identifying what type of home the customer has; whether it’s a small apartment or a large family home, and what type of flooring they have. In some instances, you can explain why many households have both a cordless stick vacuum for daily or instant cleaning, along with a larger canister vacuum for a more thorough clean once a week or even fortnight. Features worth highlighting include overall cleaning performance, level of filtration, noise level and power control.

…with Michelle Rossier from Electrolux

Sales Tips with the Experts…

The traditional advice still hasn’t changed: you have to know the product you are selling inside out. With all the innovative changes that have arrived; for example, robots; they can be quite tricky to learn how to operate as they are so electronically functional.

Something else that sellers don’t do well is demonstrating the products. The importance of demonstrating is so important it can’t be stated more strongly. If you demonstrate and know your product, you have the opportunity to sell the customer something that will suit their requirements

…with Garth Michalson from Cleanstar