Fitbit Loses Ground to Apple and Xiaomi in Wearable-Device Race
(Bloomberg) -- Fitbit Inc. fell to third place in the wearable-device market in the first quarter, losing out to rival connected watches and fitness bands from Apple Inc. and Xiaomi Corp.
Fitbit's share slid to 12 percent of all unit sales from 23 percent a year earlier, according to data from market researcher IDC. The San Francisco-based company saw its dominance fade even as the overall device market grew 18 percent to 24.7 million shipments worldwide. Xiaomi and Apple tied for first place, with about 15 percent each.
Despite the emergence of new competitors, Fitbit had managed to hang on to its lead in wearables for several years, benefiting from its early arrival in the rapidly growing market. In the past year, demand has dropped as consumers turn to newer devices with more functions. Sales also took a hit last year because of manufacturing mistakes.
The company's stock, which soared as high as $51.90 following a 2015 initial public offering, has plunged as investors lose faith in Fitbit's ability to resuscitate demand with new products. Shares dropped 1.7 percent to $5.42 at 12:10 p.m. on Monday in New York, and are down more than 60 percent in the past year.
"Fitbit finds itself in the midst of a transformation as user tastes evolve from fitness bands to watches and other products," Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst, wrote in the report. "This allowed Xiaomi to throttle up on its inexpensive devices within the China market and for Apple to leverage its position as the leading smartwatch provider worldwide.”
Chief Executive Officer James Park is betting that Fitbit's impending smartwatch will reinvigorate demand and reach new consumers. The company has acquired startups Coin, Pebble and Vector to help produce its first smartwatch. Though Fitbit has a loyal base of users, its foray into the new category will face intense competition from Apple Watch and multitudes of cheaper Android watches. As Fitbit tries to differentiate its newer products with its focus on fitness, Apple has also been doubling down in health tracking. Last month, Apple acquired Beddit, a maker of sleep-tracking hardware and software.
To contact the reporter on this story: Selina Wang in New York at swang533@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
-
Joining The Dots | Dark Skies, Steady Diya: Why Hope Holds This Diwali
With war, a weak rupee and foreign outflows weighing on sentiment, policymakers at the NDTV World Summit and market veterans at NDTV Profit Ignite: Diwali Edition offered the same advice: stay invested and filter out the noise.
-
The Curious Case of Equitas Small Finance Bank And A CEO Who Quit For Stock
PN Vasudevan believes persistent investor concerns over a perceived conflict of interest had become a governance overhang on Equitas Small Finance Bank's stock, even as the lender improved profitability and asset quality.
-
Talking Points This Week: AI Cash Burn, A Tiger Comeback And An India That Still Finds Its Own Path
India is not immune to higher oil or tighter global liquidity, yet its earnings base is broader, its domestic policy levers are still available.
-
Foreign Investors Own Half Of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. An LTCG Cut Could Matter Most Here
Foreign portfolio investors have US$115 billion parked in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank. If the government cuts long-term capital gains tax, Jefferies says returning foreign money could land here first.
-
'Never Seen This Level Of Negativity': Sandeep Tandon Says The Next Rally May Be Closer Than You Think
Veteran investor Sandeep Tandon says foreign selling is easing, large-caps are due a comeback and mid-caps are crowded, while he turns positive on gold, power and pharma this Diwali.
