Exclusive Interview The
Exclusive Interview The Perfect Storm in a Vacuum Cleaner Creating a cyclone so strong that nothing is left to be filtered… the future of cyclonic vacuuming Dyson came up with the cyclonic bagless vacuum concept in the 1980s, and since, many others have followed. But what is the iconic brand doing to stay ahead of its competition today? We put the question to company CEO Max Conze. We take the market seriously, which is why here at IFA we have launched the latest generation of our vacuum cleaners, called the Dyson Cinetic. It’s important to look at the history of this. James Dyson invented cyclonic vacuum cleaner technology because he was very frustrated with bagged vacuum cleaners, as they are fundamentally flawed. You flow air through a bag to get dirt into it, and then that dirt clogs up the little openings the air has to go through, so you lose suction. So he Max Conze: “Our engineers had to rethink the way you move air in cyclones” Max Conze: “Our engineers had to rethink the way you move air in cyclones” invented a cyclonic vacuum cleaner; then after a number of years, others began copying cyclonic technology. But it’s still flawed because these machines have still needed filters and they can also get clogged up. So for the latest generation of machines what we were looking at was to develop a vacuum cleaner that needs no bags, that requires no filter maintenance, and that will not lose suction over its entire lifetime, which we have defined as ten years. That sounds easy, but it’s very, very difficult to do. Our engineers had to rethink the way you move air in cyclones. We started off with one cyclone, but this machine has 45 different cyclones and they’re very small, which means the air gets compressed and begins spinning very, very quickly – at speeds so fast that if you and I were in the cyclone, there would be very little left of us! And because it does that, accompanied by oscillating tips on the air outlets, it separates out even very, very small particles of dust so there is no need for a filter. It’s seemingly simple, but very complex and we have had engineers working on this for six years. What are the main drivers behind the success of Dyson? Obsession with technology to solve problems and the relentlessness of not giving up when you try to come up with solutions, because that’s a hard road. We are still working on problems that we started working on ten years ago and have still not found a solution. Sometimes invention happens by accident as well. If you look at our Airblade technology, we weren’t working on that, we were working on something else, but discovered that air, if compressed, could take water away from your hands in a very effective way. So then we said, ‘Ahhh… here’s an idea – why don’t we do something?’. So you have to have a little bit of faith in circumstance as well. It’s quite a disciplined science. Many people may think that inventing is a couple of people around a table saying, ‘Why don’t we try this or that?’. But actually it’s hard work, because you need to define what is the problem you are trying to solve, technically how could you solve it, and then begins the hard work, which is proving out and iterating prototype by prototype by prototype that you can actually do it. So there is a dose of genius, but there is a whole lot of sweat and hard work in it as well. It sounds like Edison’s quotation. There are some similarities to him… We draw inspiration from Edison and many other engineering heroes, without wanting to think too much of ourselves. Their stories are great inspiration for our young engineers, and history repeats itself. If you want to do things differently you need to try often and you need to be ready to fail a few times before something works. And you need to have longevity, which is the other important factor. Many years ago we had a dream of making a vacuum cleaner using battery technology that could have the same power as a standard machine. So we started investing in motor technology and experimenting “There is a dose of genius, but there is a whole lot of sweat and hard work in it as well” with a lot of concepts. We launched some machines that were good, but not delivering against our concept, and only now are we at a stage where we have a machine – that we have here – that can deliver the same power as a mains-powered vacuum cleaner in a very compact format. That’s quite amazing, because who wouldn’t want a machine where you don’t have to carry a cable around and that is incredibly versatile. What makes the difference is the motor technology within it. Digital motor technology works with a magnet that switches on and off and on and off more than three times faster than a standard motor. There are only two ways to make things powerful. You can make them very big or make them very fast. As it rotates much, much faster, it is more “power dense”, so in a much smaller format, you can get a lot more power. Hall 4.1 Stand 204 16
Trade News The Retail Ambassador Media-Saturn-Holding’s new chief procurement officer Klaus Peter Voigt speaks exclusively to IFA International THE DEAL MAKERS iCorner Dials into the Smartphone Accessory Boom The procurement operations of Europe’s leading consumer electronics retailer, Media-Saturn Group, is headed the CPO, or Chief Procurement Officer, Klaus Peter Voigt. IFA International asked Voigt how he would best describe his role. I see myself as an international representative and ambassador of the Media-Saturn Group vis-a-vis all our industry partners. Within the company itself, I see international procurement as an innovation driver and as a link between our international subsidiaries and our brand partners. What are the greatest challenges in this job? On the one hand, recognising new growth markets and innovative providers early and, on the other, providing our industry partners with support where access to our stores is concerned. This means balancing the interests of both sides. Only then can sustainable and valuable partnerships be established from which everyone involved ultimately profits. With your different brands, how do you gather information at IFA and make deals here? It is very important to us that we maintain close contact with our partners. IFA offers us an opportunity to further develop this contact. Visiting our partners is a matter of continued on page 19 KLAUS-PETER VOIGT Media-Saturn-Holding’s newly-appointed CPO Klaus-Peter Voigt took over as the new CPO at Media-Saturn-Holding on July 1, 2013 and is now responsible for all procurement activities at the organisation. From 1989 to 2008 he occupied a variety of management positions at the Media-Saturn Group, most recently as Vice- Chairman and COO of the Media-Saturn-Holding management board. As CPO, Klaus-Peter Voigt is responsible for Europe-wide, cross-company strategic procurement for the Media-Saturn organisation. In this function, he reports directly to Horst Norberg, CEO at Media-Saturn-Holding. As a specialist in wholesale and foreign trade, Klaus-Peter Voigt has a record of professional experience in the electrical specialised trade stretching back over 25 years. Marek Krok Alstor’s Senior Product Manager (Retail Division) Alstor is one of the distribution leaders of the Polish IT market. iCorner is the part of Alstor’s distribution business dedicated to smartphones and tablets. The focus is on high-margin accessories for smartphones based on iOS, Android and W8 operating systems. Alstor’s Senior Product Manager, Marek Krok, discussed the vital importance of IFA for keeping abreast of trends and products in a rapidly changing market. IFA is the perfect opportunity to meet with people that we know, and to find some unique products. IFA is also important because we can meet with our current vendors and discuss with them our long-term plans. 90% of our vendors are here. This mobile market is growing so fast that it is a must for us to be here at IFA. We need to see and feel the product, and talk to people. Meeting them face-to-face is completely different than emails. What are some of the exciting products you have seen at this year’s IFA? There have been a lot of things. Our current vendors have released a lot of exciting new products. For example, Morphie, a market leader in combined battery and protective cases focused on the Apple market, now offers cases for Samsung Galaxy 4 and other brands. PhotoFast are also now offering external USBs for Apple phones; while we are excited by the Olloclip zoom lens for the iPhone. www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Tuesday 10 th September 2013 17
