Mikey Campbell
In a bid to address the growing smartwatch market, established consumer wristwatch maker Fossil on Thursday announced an agreement to acquire wearables firm Misfit for $260 million.
The purchase will let Fossil leapfrog costly R&D cycles and accelerate development of products meant to compete with the likes of Apple Watch. The watchmaker just recently dipped its toe into the wearables pool with Q, a line of traditional watches with embedded activity trackers and smartphone connectivity. Fossil also markets dedicated bracelet style fitness monitors under the Q flag.
Misfit, co-founded by Apple CEO John Sculley, grants Fossil access to a scalable cloud and app platform, as well as the firm's team of seasoned hardware and software engineers. Fossil is essentially buying a made-to-order wearable technology platform. As of today, Misfit has more than two years of wearables market experience under its belt, competing with sector leaders Fitbit and Jawbone.
"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," said Misfit founder and CEO Sonny Vu. "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."
Fossil says it plans to introduce Misfit's tech into 16 of its brands, including Fossil and Skagen watches, over the course of 2016. The company is not only looking to field new products, but is also considering new brands and enterprise partnerships in the music, fitness, healthcare and technology industries.
It appears that Fossil intends to completely assimilate Misfit, as Vu will become president and CTO of connected devices for Fossil Group, Inc. as part of the deal. The $260 million acquisition is set to close before the end of 2015, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval.
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Wesley Hilliard
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19 Comments
I see fear in their eyes.
I see fear in their eyes.
Better than burying their heads in the sand like Blackberry.
Besides, this isn't Fossil's first time at bat with the smartwatch.
And why does it have to be fear? Couldn't they also see that some of their customers might prefer to wear a smart watch and they simply want to offer one?
I think people on this forum are too quick to underestimate the Swiss watchmakers. If they hire the right software developers, they already equal or surpass Apple's build and design quality. I personally don't see any of them surpassing Apple on the software side especially, since any third party will have limited interface with Apple products, but that aside, I don't see why it can't be an equitable product.
Better than burying their heads in the sand like Blackberry.
Besides, this isn't Fossil's first time at bat with the smartwatch.
And why does it have to be fear? Couldn't they also see that some of their customers might prefer to wear a smart watch and they simply want to offer one?
I think people on this forum are too quick to underestimate the Swiss watchmakers. If they hire the right software developers, they already equal or surpass Apple's build and design quality. I personally don't see any of them surpassing Apple on the software side especially, since any third party will have limited interface with Apple products, but that aside, I don't see why it can't be an equitable product.
If you think they didn't do this purely due to threat from the Apple watch, then I have nothing more to say to you.
If you think they didn't do this purely due to threat from the Apple watch, then I have nothing more to say to you.
I don't agree this is purely a reaction to Apple. I do agree that Apple is definitely a motivating factor. My point is, that Fossil was exploring smartwatches a decade before Apple even dreamed about getting into the wearable category. So to assume they are purely motivated to copy Apple out of fear that Apple is going to put them out of business with one unproven smartwatch isn't entirely realistic either, and a bit of hyperbole.
I more interested in learning why Sculley chose to sell the company instead of using his CEO skills to make a truly competitive product against Apple and the others (Isn't funny that competing with Samsung or any other Android Wear manufacturer is mentioned in press releases?). I am guessing with the failure of that opportunistic "Steve Jobs" movie, in which many, many people realized Sculley attempted to rewrite history, the man chose to get out of the embarrassing spotlight.