INTERVIEW: Logitech To Launch Up to 20 Tablet Products In 2012
February 02 2011 - 11:07AM
Dow Jones News
Swiss technology company Logitech International SA (LOGN.VX)
will launch up to 20 new tablet friendly peripherals this spring to
make the most of the expanding demand for touch-screen
computers.
The company thinks tablet peripherals like keyboards and
speakers will be additional revenue drivers rather than reducing
sales of its traditional computer mice and keyboards for desktop
PCs and laptops.
Analysts had previously voiced fears that Logitech could suffer
declining sales from its pointer and keyboard business - which
makes up around half of sales - due to the increased popularity of
tablet computers like Apple Inc's (AAPL) iPad.
"This is not a side phenomenon it is not a wait and see for us,"
said Junien Labrousse, Logitech executive vice president products
and Europe president
Around 60 million tablet computers are forecast to be sold
globally this year, he said, which represents around 20% of the
total PC and tablet market.
"That makes tablets a very important category for us, a 20%
incremental opportunity for us," he told Dow Jones Newswires in an
interview at the Logitech European headquarters in Lausanne.
He said Logitech was putting a lot of effort into developing new
products which are compatible with the iPad as well as with other
platforms like Android.
"Around 25% of our new products will be tablet friendly and we
normally launch 70 to 80 new products a year," he said.
The products will be introduced around key retail dates such as
spring, the back to school market in the summer, and Christmas when
stocks are updated. The first products will likely go on sale
between May and June so will have little impact on Logitech in
fiscal 2011 which runs to the end of March.
But Labrousse said that "next year we expect some pretty good
lift thanks to tablets," although he didn't supply any figures.
New products would likely include keyboards and audio devices
like speakers and earphones.
Labrousse said the keyboard attachment rate for iPads was higher
than on notebook computers.
"We know that on tablets the need for keyboards is even greater.
There is a need for text entry devices; if you start to type a two
page email on an iPad you will go mad."
He added that the tablet computer focus on media consumption
makes earphones and speakers important. But, given the market is
still very new, it is difficult to predict which peripherals will
see the greatest demand.
"Many people buy one because they want one, without a specific
need. It is a curiosity and it is hard to form a product strategy
around something very volatile," he said.
Logitech will also continue to seek growth in its traditional PC
business, he added.
Last week the company, which is based in Morges, Switzerland,
reported record sales during its crucial third quarter.
Sales in the three months to Dec. 31 beat expectations, rising
22% to $754 million, while net profit rose 14% to $65 million.
Overall revenues from sales of mice rose by 12% during the
quarter, and the number of units sold rose by 23%.
As a result Logitech increased its full year sales guidance to
$2.4 billion-$2.42 billion, up from $2.35 billion-$2.4 billion.
Labrousse said: "Our core markets still have incredible growth
opportunities in established markets and even bigger in emerging
markets."
-By John Revill, Dow Jones Newswires; +41 43 443 8042 ;
john.revill@dowjones.com
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