Logitech to exit console peripherals market

Established peripherals firm Logitech has announced its intended departure from the console sector.

The move follows a 14 per cent dip in sales in its 2013 Q3 to $615m and an operating loss of $180m. Net losses hit $195m.

Sales were down 20 per cent in EMEA, 11 per cent in Asia and eight per cent in America.

Logitech president and CEO Bracken Darrell has now confirmed that the company has identified a number of product categories that no longer fit with our current strategic direction” and that it plans to discontinue other non-strategic products, such as speaker docks and console gaming peripherals by the end of calendar year 2013”.

Added Darrell: As we articulated when we started the third quarter, continued weakness in the global PC market was the primary factor in our disappointing Q3 results.

These results are unacceptable and we are taking decisive action as an outcome of my strategic review. We are taking immediate actions to shape a faster and more profitable Logitech. 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.

Darrell intends for these measures to significantly reduce costs and to get Logitech back to sustained profitability as quickly as possible”.