HAAN Steams Into the Spotlight
By Thomas Haire ( thaire@questex.com)
In its October 2009 issue, Response announced and spot- lighted the three finalists and winner of the inaugural Direct Response Marketing Alliance (DRMA) Marketer of the Year Award. In the November 2009 issue, we began
spotlighting the other seven top nominees in a monthly section.
This month, we caught up with Romi Haan, inventor and CEO of
Lancaster, Pa.-based HAAN USA.
HAAN’s Steam Mop was introduced via DRTV in November 2008,
leading to multimillion-dollar sales at retail. The company also introduced the HAAN Steam Station in April 2009, and believes much of its
recent success is due to its infomercial execution and media placement, popularity on QVC and consumer satisfaction. The company
became a household name in 2009, and its products are available via
DRTV, home shopping, retail and online.
Q: What does it mean to you and your company
to be one of the top 10 nominees for the DRMA
Marketer of the Year Award?
A: It is a great honor to be selected as a nominee for
Marketer of the Year. HAAN has achieved a 73-percent
market share in my home country (South Korea) by
strongly backing our marketing efforts with superior
products and outstanding customer service. This nomina-
tion speaks to the fact that the same strategies I have
implemented in my home market are directly applicable for
success in the United States.
Q: What was the most significant accomplishment in the past year for your company?
A: The overwhelming acceptance of HAAN products
into the U.S. marketplace. I can’t describe the joy I feel
when I read consumer reviews of HAAN products on QVC
and Amazon.com. It is wonderful to see that product
quality and customer service remain priorities with the
American consumer.
HAAN is expecting
great success for
its latest product,
the Duo.
Q: How did the successful products you had
over the past year fit within the overall con-
cept behind your company? Were any of those
products so successful that they changed the
way you do business? If so, how?
A: HAAN is built around a philosophy, not an
individual product. Our mantra is to develop and
market products that improve the end user’s
quality of life. In order for a HAAN product to
come to market, it must provide a solution to a real
problem. That solution
must be better than any
other solution available
on the market. The HAAN
Floor Sanitizer and the
HAAN Steam Station are
examples of a perfect fit
with the HAAN philosophy.
Romi Haan, inventor and CEO of HAAN USA, saw
her company make two big breakthroughs in the
American market in 2009.
Q: Why do you think your business responded well during
the recent economic downturn?
A: It all goes back to the products. Being a working mother of two
children, I know how exhausting it is to come home to make dinner,
clean and do laundry. I have built HAAN around products that solve
real household problems. There will always be a demand for products
that provide true solutions to real problems and that are built to last
regardless of the economic climate.
Q: What is your outlook for the next 12 months? What are
the top items in your pipeline?
A: Continued but measured growth — we will not sacrifice quality or
customer service for short-term sales. HAAN is focused on its long-term
goals. Top items continue to be in the floor care and garment care sectors. We are also looking forward to new product introductions, which
we are very excited about, particularly due to recent consumer testing.
Q: What vertical markets do you believe are best equipped
to survive current economic issues — and even thrive — in
2010? Why?
A: When media rates are soft, it makes it easier to have success with
TV, print, radio and online. HAAN is a product-focused marketer and
manufacturer. Our researchers and engineers develop products that fill
a void and solve real problems. Direct marketing channels can only be
as healthy as the products that are being supplied.
Q: Does today’s consumer respond better to short-form or
long-form DRTV? Which of these two formats are best supported by other media, including online, mobile, print and
radio?
A: Today’s consumer responds well to both long-form and short-form
DRTV. Our products are better suited towards long form because of
their complexity and price points. Online is a must for any type of TV
campaign and, in some cases, can make as much as 80 percent of
direct sales. Depending upon the type of product and overall campaign
objectives, print, radio and mobile are also great additions. ■
