14 DAY TRIAL // Bill Zerella, Fitbit’s CFO (chief financial officer) made some interesting comments regarding Apple Watch, particularly that its users are not really passionate about the product.
Fitbit used to be at the top, but that’s not the case anymore. Through a combination of poor marketing decisions, a modest reception for their latest Fitbit Ionic top of the line watch, and overconfidence in their brand, Fitbit managed to go down instead of up.
The company wanted to do its own thing, and that’s usually commendable, but in this case, it meant a slow release cycle for new devices and a costly new watch that lacked proper app support. They wanted the market to ply to their model, but instead, the market moved on, and Fitbit hasn’t adapted just yet.
What does Fitbit think about its main competitor, Apple?
Companies don’t usually discuss openly about their direct competitors, but according to a report on Barron’s, the Fitbit’s CFO made some comments regarding Apple to investors Roth Investment Conference in Laguna Beach, California.
Since he’s talking to investors, we can easily understand why he needed to say these things. They sound true, and they might be true, but this is not what the market is telling us.
“If you don’t have an Apple phone, you’re not buying an Apple Watch… [and] 80% of the world is Android, not Apple. I have yet to meet anyone who owns an Apple Watch who’s passionate about the product,” said Zerella.
According to a study from IDC, Apple sold 8 million watches in the last financial quarter, and that’s a huge number, securing the first position with ease. It’s also true that the Apple Watch sales are tightly linked to iPhones sales, and you would think that’s an excuse.
What Zerella omitted to say is that Fitbit devices also work with iPhones. They don’t offer quite the same functionality (for messaging for example), but they do share a similar price. The market might be dominated by Android, but there are also dozens of watch makers out there, and all of them are competing for the same pie.