Sales estimate for Jabra wireless headsets cut by 20%
Because of the economic downturn, RTB Technology, the sole distributor in Thailand for Jabra wireless headsets, yesterday announced that it would lower this year's sales estimates of the devices by 20 per cent, from Bt120 million to Bt100 million.
However, Jabra will remain the market leader, accounting for half of the 120,000 wireless headsets sold per year.
"Jabra sales in the second and third quarters were not good because of the economic downturn. So we need to lower our target |by 20 per cent. It is still good that Jabra |sales in the mid- and high-end segments are still growing, and overall Jabra still is the market leader," said Banphot Vatanasombut, managing director of RTB Technology.
He added that next year, it targets Jabra sales to grow by 20 per cent to Bt120 million. Next year will still be tough, though, since the products are going to be more complicated, requiring the company to spend Bt20 million on marketing to educate consumers about how intelligent Jabra products are.
The Jabra has put a lot of innovation and technologies into make the devices intelligent, including hardware sensors, sound technology, and built-in software to work with smartphone applications.
"We will focus more on segmentation in order to offer various products to serve |the different needs of consumers," Banphot said.
RTB Technology handles 10 brands, and Jabra contributes more than 30 per cent of the company’s sales revenue. This year, RTB targets total revenue of Bt450 million.
Normally, the company spends 10 per cent of its revenue for marketing of each brand, in case of priority and focus, the company will spend 15 to 20 per cent.
Tenth anniversary
RTB yesterday celebrated the 10th year of Jabra’s presence in the Thai market with the launch of four new products: the flagship Jabra Eclipse at Bt4,290, Jabra Sport Pace at Bt3,490Wireless, Jabra Halo Fusion at Bt2,190, and Jabra Steel at Bt3,590.
"Jabra products have been accepted by Thai customers, as evidenced by ongoing sales growth and leading market share for Bluetooth headsets for more than five consecutive years," Banphot said. He added that the key success factors included understanding consumer insights into products, services and marketing activities. Moreover, the continuous introduction of products that meet consumer demand, creating a satisfying consumer experience, good after-sales service, and effective activities to approach customers and dealers drive Jabra’s success.
