In the wake of Fossil's newest wearable, a smartwatch named the Q45 Pilot that was showcased at CES 2016 in Las Vegas on Jan. 5, the sartorial giant also had a pretty hefty announcement: the success of its smartband brands over the past year has kickstarted a smartwatch renaissance for the company, resulting in plans for it to introduce over 100 different smartband styles within the upcoming year.
Among the upcoming Android- and iOS-compatible products will be activity trackers as well as smartwatches, some of which are possible due to the company's acquisition of Misfit, a wearable tech brand known for its sleep monitors and fitness bands.
Fossil's year-end goal? To have all 100 different looks available for purchase for the 2016 holiday season. The added bonus? The lines will add a projected 20,000 distribution points, which could hypothetically double company sales.
"We successfully launched wearables with one brand and 10 styles in 2015 and quickly ramped up to launch wearables for several brands in more than 100 styles in 2016," said Greg McKelvey, chief officer of strategy and digital at Fossil Group. "Bringing Fossil Q to market helped us identify additional opportunity, and based on the positive consumer response, we are going big this year. Our retail partners will see the power of Fossil Group's scale and consumers will see the variety of functionality, style, colors and brands they desire."
So far, the Texas-based clothier has released all four of its smart products, including smartwatches the Q Founder and the Q Grant, which were announced this past October. The wearables were aesthetically typified as putting style over tech-savviness; the Q Grant and two respective smart bracelet lines, the Q Dreamer and Q Reveler, were launched on Oct. 25, while the Q Founder was released in November.
Via: CES
