Fitness technology company Fitbit says it’s not worried about Apple’s move into the wearable tech market with the Apple Watch.
Woody Scal, chief revenue officer at Fitbit, told journalists at Fitbit’s San Francisco headquarters yesterday Fitbit will continue to grow despite the market becoming increasingly crowded.
“The key reason Fitbit has been successful is we have addressed a very key consumer need,” Scal says.
“My personal opinion is that many technology companies start with ‘we have a great technology how do I find an application?’”
Scal says Fitbit identified consumers’ desire to improve their fitness and built its technology around this desire.
Read more: How Fitbit is disrupting traditional business models
“Smart hardware so far has yet to find the killer application,” he says.
“Smart watches have a lot of potential but they still haven’t shown people a compelling case for why you must have it.”
Fitbit listed on the New York Stock Exchange on June 18 and recorded US$745 million ($1.045 billion) in sales last financial year.
Its products are sold in 55 countries, at 45,000 retail stores and over the course of the technology company’s life, it has sold 25 million Fitbit devices.
“We’ve recorded exponential growth every year, more than doubling every year since we started [in 2007],” Scal says.
“We think what it really says is that our solution is really resonating with consumers. We are really solving a long term need”
Scal says he is not concerned about increased competition in the sector.
“There are more entrants but Fitbit’s position in the category has got stronger,” he says.
“We really believe that one size doesn’t fit all. We have that view that we want to serve everyone.”
Scal says technology companies such as Apple will struggle in the fitness category because fitness is not their sole focus.
“Fitbit is 100% dedicated to this category,” he says.
“Everything that happens in this office is all about this category.”
Scal also believes Fitbit has the edge on other fitness technology companies as it is aimed at everybody rather than just elite athletes.
“Because we are addressing so many different people not just a minority of people who are committed to a fitness lifestyle, that’s why the company is growing,” Scal says.
“We are turning Fitbit into a movement.”
Cara Waters travelled to San Francisco as a guest of SalesForce which paid for her flights and accommodation.
Cara Waters is the editor of SmartCompany. Cara was previously a senior reporter at the Financial Times website FT Adviser in London and has also worked for The Sunday Times.
