New action cameras, smartwatches, fitness belts and other wearable technologies used in the sporting goods sector were prominently under the spotlight during the past few days at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, which tends to attract more than 150,000 visitors.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) predicted that sales of wearable devices will grow by 61 percent to 30.9 million units around the world this year, generating a 133 percent increase in revenues to $5.1 billion. That includes 20 million health and fitness devices worth $1.8 billion, and according to Juniper Research, their number could reach 70 million units by 2018. They could represent a growing source of revenues for many sports retailers.
The U.S. Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) organized its first dedicated Sports Tech conference and marketplace at the show, where sports brands like Adidas and Under Armour presented their latest contraptions.
Under Armour launched the UA Record at the fair as the latest tool for its growing digital connection with consumers. This new app and website creates a visual dashboard for individuals, intended to connect them with thousands of fitness tracking devices and apps, and to share workout stories with up to 20 friends. The new open platform follows Under Armour's acquisition of MapMyFitness in November 2013, which gave it access to a database of 20 million registered consumers.
Adidas announced a partnership with Interactive Health Technologies to help promote youth fitness in U.S. schools. Adidas will contribute its expertise in the training of sports professionals, developed through its miCoach program, to develop a monthly challenge program for school children and a summer program for physical education teachers. The plan is to have daily interaction with over one million students by 2016.
GoPro, which sold more than four million action cameras in the past year, was a star at the CES. It introduced new software to manage and share video content, but met with a lot of competition from the likes of Garmin, Panasonic, Sony and HTC Corp. as well as smaller new entrants such as VSN Mobil from the U.S. or Giroptic from France.
Among other new projects, GoPro announced plans to develop a new video channel featuring content created by its own professionals and by its users, in partnership with LG Electronics. However, GoPro's shares took a temporary 12.2 percent nosedive to $49.87 after a report that Apple has obtained a patent, inherited from Kodak, for a sports camera that can be mounted on sports equipment, capturing images and sounds underwater.
The sports-specific novelties at the CES included a new set of sports headphones by Gibson Brands. Developed in partnership with Usain Bolt, they can switch between an active and a lifestyle mode. They can be fitted with strategically placed LED lights to offer safety and visibility during nighttime runs.
Garmin launched a new version of its Vivoactive smartwatch that uses open platforms for better compatibility with the most popular outdoor and fitness apps. It is said to be cheaper than the Apple Watch, while lasting longer. All kinds of connected bracelets were shown at the CES, and Montblanc, the supplier of luxury pens, entered the segment with with the e-Strap, a highly technical and versatile bracelet that can be adapted to any watch including its own new TimeWalker.
