The year 2012 has been tough for a lot of hardware vendors, and the last quarter in particular has been stingy for a lot of companies. It also brought some ungenerous results for Logitech, and the peripheral company reported a loss of $180 million.
Retail sales were down 14 percent too, and understandably Logitech has felt the hit.
As a result, the company has announced some harsh decisions this week, as it prepares to realign and set forward a new strategic direction. A less cluttered business plan is high on the agenda for the company for the year 2013, as it bids adieu to remote controls and console peripherals.
In fact, the company will now be returning to its roots, and focus on the PC business.
The Harmony remote division is the first to get tossed up, with Logitech deciding to spin it off. The video conferencing business is also one division that cost the company more than it earned it.
Logitech announced the financial results in a press release on its website. CEO Bracken Darrell said that the company will now shift its attention on the PC and tablets market, as it sees a lot of potential growth in making accessories for mobile devices:
“These results are unacceptable and we are taking decisive action as an outcome of my strategic review. I was pleased with the continued strong demand for our Ultrathin Keyboard Cover in Q3. We plan to expand our presence in the growing tablet accessories category with the launch of a number of exciting new products later this quarter.
We are developing more mobility-related products, leveraging the powerful growth of tablets and smartphones. We intend to sustain our leadership in PC platform-related products where we have engineering, distribution and scale advantages. Our goal with PC-platform products is to maximize profitability, while investing selectively in growing categories.”
Luckily, Logitech possesses strong brand strength, and the company can survive a big impact like this. On the flipside it brought forward a realignment of Logitech’s focus back to PC and mobile devices.
Several Windows 8 tablets and slates are scheduled for 2013, and companies like Logitech focusing on developing products for them could only bode well for consumers.
