| Global Marketing Force Headquartered in Tualatin
By Fred Delkin And you thought Oregon’s economy had almost dropped into obscurity. You won’t find that attitude shared in an office complex on the back side of a contemporary industrial park in Tualatin. Here the headquarters of Oregon Scientific directs a marketing empire that last year generated almost $900 million (Hong Kong dollars, $286 million U.S.) in global sales of leading edge technology products in four electronic categories (LCD consumer electronics, telecommunications, personal information and learning products). “Our goal is to not only put a product in every home, but in every room
of A wholly-owned subsidiary. Oregon Scientific began in 1989 as a small Portland electronics company that created a hand-held personal information manager (introduced as a private label in Sharper Image stores). This proved to be an appealing concept, but expensive to manufacture, leading to a search for an Asian manufacturing resource. That resulted in an association with Integrated Display Technology (IDT), a Hong Kong firm founded in 1977 by Raymond Chan to produce liquid crystal display (LCD) digital products. Chan, now 53, was educated in Hong Kong as an electronics engineer and was employed by Fairchild Semiconductor in Hong Kong and the United States before founding his own firm in Hong Kong in 1977. IDT and Oregon Scientific formed a joint venture in 1991 after meeting at an international consumer electronics trade show.
From product-driven to market-driven. “Our job at Oregon Scientific is to move an ever-growing line of quality
products with unique design and function produced by IDT,” Boyle says.
The marketing effort takes many retail avenues, including Costco, Target, Boyle points with pride to a pair of 2002 awards given to Oregon Scientific as a Mattel manufacturing licensee of the year and Toys R Us vendor of the year. These honors reflect OS success in the category of Learning Products for the younger set. Mattel has licensed IDT to produce a Barbie line of electronic educational items including a laptop computer and a Hot Wheels line that involves the interactive teaching of math, language, logic and reading via animation, sound and music. Oregon Scientific has recently been licensed by The Wiggles, an Australian touring stage group aimed at educating and entertaining children. A musical storybook and an interactive laptop computer comprise this latter license. Oregon Scientific’s Learning Products division (officed in Stamford Conn) has earned educational awards for a Zip the Robot computer line of games and interactive educational adventures. An Accelerator line of learning computers is topped by a Vision model @ $119.99 that is just over an inch thick, offers 70 activities and tutorials, a multi-track stereo sound and links to any home PC for printouts and filing. From toys to toning up Sports and fitness have gotten Oregon Scientific’s market-driven product
attention. Inside or out, personal health is monitored and measured
by Timing can be everything
The National Weather Service provides constant broadcast coverage from the mainland U.S. and offshore island territories. This service can be monitored with an OS Emergency Alert radio that tunes in weather warnings, an ideal adjunct for boating, hiking, climbing and cycling activity. Personal communications covered
Finally, the current OS product inventory includes telecommunication with a variety of cordless phone models and a small office conference phone with multi-directional microphone. Marketing leadership boasts big company backgrounds OS prexy Boyle, in charge of marketing activities the past two years, earned his stripes in the major appliance field, directing a turnaround from the ‘80’s depression era for Admiral, then serving with Magic Chef and Maytag prior to moving into telecommunications with US West. He first lived in Portland as a vice president of sales and marketing with Codeaphone. This past January, Boyle acquired some seasoned global marketing help by employing David Huffman as vice president of product marketing. Huffman acquired 20 years worth of sales and marketing with Eastman Kodak, including extensive European service, Russia in the ‘90’s included. Intel recently recruited him to the Portland area, whence he and Boyle teamed up. Huffman characterizes his OS marketing effort as “convincing the consumer he can’t live without whatever product it is.” Both men agree that OS products “provide valuable information to enhance people’s lives,” or as Boyle capsulizes it, “we make people smarter.” IDT founder Chan serves as chairman of his empire and it would appear he has a clear sense of mission, directing a new 900,000 sq. ft. manufacturing complex in Xixian, China near Hong Kong…an operation Chan describes as “designing and developing innovative, user friendly and practical products for our customers.” His background in creative engineering continues to expand IDT research and product development. Chan’s acquisition of Oregon Scientific proved his desire to complement creative design with imaginative marketing. Clearly, Chan understands globalization is a key to capitalist success in both making and peddling.
© 2003 Oregon Magazine Product graphics link to their Oregon Scientific page. |
each
home,” declares Oregon Scientific president James Boyle. That goal
is supported by 15 sales and distribution offices in the United Kingdom,
Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark, China, Japan, Hong Kong,
Australia, Brazil, Portland, New York City and Stamford, Conn. There
are also Oregon Scientific retail stores in Rome and Milan, plus store-within-a-store
concepts in department and duty-free outlets. Photo:
Jim Boyle (L) and David Huffman, VP New Product Marketing
