Dyson to set up 20 stores, R&D facilities in India
Dyson to set up 20 stores, R&D facilities in India

UK-based consumer durables firm, Dyson plans to set up retail stores and research and development (R&D) facilities in India.

James Dyson, Chief Engineer and Chairman, Dyson, told IANS, "We want to invest 150 million pounds (Rs 125 crore) over five years in India and (retail) shops would be an important part of that."

Dyson said that the company would set up 20 stores initially in major cities.

He said, "I may not include any particular geography, but it will be a national launch, also online."

He added, "Shops are a very important part. We are doing that all over the world. In India, I think we’ll be making a special push on that. We can have some Indian stylish retail stores like we have in the rest of the world."

According to a company statement, Dyson spends seven million pounds a week on R&D and is the UK’s largest investor in robotics.

James said, "My guess is we would open an R&D centre before a manufacturing plant in India."

In November 2016, the founder had expressed hopes of launching the products in India by mid-2017. He said, "We have not got the licence yet."

When asked about the kind of market share he expects in India, he said, "I never answer that question because I always think it’s an arrogant thing to say that we are going to have 10 per cent or 20 per cent market share. I have got no idea."

James said, "We just make what we make. We will share (the products) in the best possible way to the people in India and it’s up to the country how we do (business) then."

According to market research institute GFK, Dyson is one of the fastest growing companies in Europe.

Headquartered in Malmesbury, Dyson holds 7500 patents worldwide and is focused on combining hardware, software and algorithms to make intelligent machines.

James added, "We are technology driven, not market-driven. What we love doing is developing technology."

 
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