With Fitbit On The Ropes, Warren Buffett Steps Into The Ring
The wearable tech space just keeps getting more and more crowded as existing players like Fitbit try to compete with a flood of up-and-comers bringing new devices to market on a weekly basis.
As I write this Fitbit stock is hanging around an all-time low of $5.62, which it hit yesterday.
While Fitbit has always enjoyed first-mover status in the wearables industry, the rush of products being developed that are more interesting, less obvious, and have more and different features is leading some to question whether Fitbit is on its way to becoming the Blackberry of wearable tech.
CCS Insights recently reported that the global wearables sales are expected to more than double to $34 billion in the next 3 years, while unit sales will more than triple.
What the infographic shows, however, is that the where of wearables on our body and what it reflects we’re doing with them is wide open.
When Fitbit launched a decade ago, it was pretty simple and innovation was at a more tepid pace. Today the race is on full steam ahead as new entrants seem ignore others pre-concieved notions of what wearable tech can or should do.
In an increasingly crowded space we now have super-investor Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway holding of jewelry susidiary Richline Group joining the fray with a new smart jewelry line called Ela.
With the deep pockets of Berkshire and Buffett behind it, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that an aquisition could be in the works to deepen Richline’s product shelf and patent bench.
