A bit over a year ago, Fossil shook hands with Intel and started a collaboration on wearables that ultimately wrecked its earnings. To right that wrong, the American watchmaker bought a wearables manufacturer that should strengthen its position in this industry.
Misfit, the maker of some of the most stylish wearables on the market, must have done something right, if it drew the attention of such a popular watchmaker as Fossil. Besides that, Misfit already has an audience of its own, and by buying this company, Fossil Group manages to expand its addressable market. This way, the watchmaker will be able to satisfy both the needs of people looking for traditional timepieces, and of the ones looking for smartwatches and smartbands that help stay in touch with the
“We have a significant opportunity to add technology and connectivity across our platform of watches and accessories,” explained Kosta Kartsotis, CEO of Fossil Group. “With the acquisition of Misfit, Fossil Group will be uniquely positioned to lead the convergence of style and technology and to become the fashion gateway to the high-growth wearable technology and connected device markets.”
Misfit brings with itself a scalable cloud and app platform, which really is something that the watchmaker desperately needed, so that the world gains confidence once again in its wearables. Another problem that has been addressed properly by Misfit is the battery life of wearables, something that other manufacturers are still struggling to solve.
Another thing that Fossil Group will manage to do after this acquisition is accelerate its connected accessory roadmap. Misfit’s business model will also add new distribution channels and enterprise partnerships to Fossil’s already great portfolio. Not at last, the world-class software and hardware engineering team that helped Misfit get where it was will now have a new home under Fossil’s roof.
“We fundamentally believe consumers care about both technical functionality and fashionable design. In fact, one without the other is simply not enough. With the acquisition of Misfit, Fossil Group will be positioned to win with the connected consumer,” added Greg McKelvey, chief strategy and digital officer of Fossil Group. “Our world-class design and global distribution, combined with Misfit’s technology platform, creates a significantly advantaged, multi?brand and global wearable technology business poised to drive the convergence of fashion and technology.”
“We are thrilled to join forces with Fossil Group to usher in the next era of wearables where elegance, beauty and long-lasting wearability are paramount,” concluded Sonny Vu, founder and CEO of Misfit, who will serve as President and Chief Technology Officer of connected devices for Fossil Group. “Together, we will introduce products that blend Misfit’s seamless, intuitive technology and user experience with the design, style and branding that is the hallmark of Fossil Group.”
The deal went down for $260 million, which really isn’t a spectacular amount, considering the transactions that usually take place in the tech world.
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