Fitbit 2019

アブストラクト

In 2019, James Park, CEO of Fitbit is forced to reduce the targets for the rest of the year when the mid-year results are announced, an unpleasant message to the shareholders of the company, which has been listed since 2015. Indeed, while in 2014 the company was one of the most prominent startups in the tech and healthcare sector with a market share of nearly 45% of the wearable devices sector, by the end of 2018, Fitbit had only 12.2% market share. The arrival of many competitors since 2015 such as Apple, Xiaomi, Samsung has completely destabilized Fitbit, the brand has not managed to adapt quickly enough and is now in a difficult situation. Since 2015, the company has not managed to generate profits, there is no indication that this trend is set to change with operating costs continuing to rise while sales are falling dramatically. From a technological point of view, all competitors have caught up, and some have even taken the lead while grabbing the company's market share. When James Park announces its results for mid-2019, it is unclear which direction the company should take: should it continue to develop its products as in the past and focus even more on innovation? should it try to find a new growth niche that would complement its B2C offering? should it seek to partner with other companies to strengthen its position or simply try to find a buyer in view of the growing rumours? This case study will start by studying the history of Fitbit, then look at the fitness trackers and smartwatches market by quickly presenting Fitbit's main competitors, and then analyze the main drivers of this market. In a second step, the case study will look at the market situation at the end of 2018, particularly that of Fitbit, in order to present the main difficulties encountered by the company. Finally, different strategic options will be presented that could potentially enable the brand to face competition or find other growth levers.

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