Fitbit, the global leader in wearable bands, is all set to enter the Indian market with a bouquet of four wearable bands across price ranges. The company is aiming at all types of users from the everyday consumer to performance athletes. The first devices will be available from July 1.
Fitbit will bring in the Zip, Flex, Charge HR and Surge with prices ranging between Rs 4,000 and Rs 19,990
Steve Morley, vice-president and general manager – Asia Pacific for Fitbit, says the company is going for a full fledged launch in India. “We are establishing an Indian entity and the first employees will be joining soon. We are here for a proper brand launch and Amazon will be our launch partner,” Amazon will have a full Fitbit store from July 1.
Morley said the company was looking to go offline around Diwali. “We want to give customers a proper look and feel,” Morley said, without disclosing who the offline partners will be. According to research firm IDC, 72.1 million wearable devices will be shipped in 2015, up 173.3% from the 26.4 million units shipped in 2014. “The demand for basic wearables, those that do not run third party apps, has been absolutely astounding,” said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst, Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. He said Fitbit and Xiaomi have helped propel the market with their sub-$100 bands.
San Francisco-based Fitbit is the largest player in this segment, as per Canalys too, and has so far sold 20 million units in 43 countries. It has 700 employees and sells in over 50,000 stores. Fitbit was among the first companies to start selling wearables way back in 2009. In India, Fitbit will bring in the Zip, Flex, Charge HR and Surge with prices ranging between Rs 4,000 and Rs 19,990. The Charge HR, priced Rs 12,990, is a unique product in the Indian market and will offer full-time heart rate monitoring for active users. The Surge, on the other hand, will offer GPS to this mix and will be aimed at performance users. Morley says Fitbit devices are ahead of the competition also because they have the best compatibility among all wearables and works with over smartphones. “Our nearest competitor does about 30. Plus, we have competitive social elements in the app that can really increase performance,” adds Morley.
