TomTom may be pulling back from wearables
TomTom may be the latest in a string of companies that are pulling back from the wearables market.
Founded in 1991, the Dutch outfit produces navigation and mapping products. It sells action cameras, fleet management systems and location-based products. The company also has its own range of activity trackers and GPS sport watches. This includes the popular Spark 3 range and the Touch fitness tracker.
Essential reading: TomTom’s fitness tracker range detailed in full
In its Q2 earning report, TomTom revealed a 20% year-on-year decline in consumer sales. This was mostly due to poor performance of its Sports division which includes fitness trackers and action cameras.
“The wearables market has fallen short of expectations…” said TomTom CEO Harold Goddijn.
“And because of this and because we want to focus on automotive, licensing and telematics businesses, we are reviewing strategic options for our Sports business.”
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets for 2017
Headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom currently has some 4,000 employees worldwide and presence in over 40 countries. But a number of key figures left during the latest round of firings in December. According to Wearable, they have not been replaced. The company has also allegedly shelved plans for a new Bandit 2 action camera due to poor sales.
Intel has also eliminated its wearables division earlier this month. Jawbone is no more and Pebble has been eaten up by Fitbit. Over the past year, Xiaomi, Apple and Fitbit have emerged as the clear leaders in the wearables market, and it seems that other companies are struggling to survive.
Source: Wearable
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