INTERVIEW: Logitech To Launch Up to 20 Tablet Products In 2012

Swiss technology company Logitech International SA (LOGN.VX) will launch up to 20 new tablet friendly peripherals this spring to make the most of the expanding demand for touch-screen computers.

The company thinks tablet peripherals like keyboards and speakers will be additional revenue drivers rather than reducing sales of its traditional computer mice and keyboards for desktop PCs and laptops.

Analysts had previously voiced fears that Logitech could suffer declining sales from its pointer and keyboard business - which makes up around half of sales - due to the increased popularity of tablet computers like Apple Inc's (AAPL) iPad.

"This is not a side phenomenon it is not a wait and see for us," said Junien Labrousse, Logitech executive vice president products and Europe president

Around 60 million tablet computers are forecast to be sold globally this year, he said, which represents around 20% of the total PC and tablet market.

"That makes tablets a very important category for us, a 20% incremental opportunity for us," he told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview at the Logitech European headquarters in Lausanne.

He said Logitech was putting a lot of effort into developing new products which are compatible with the iPad as well as with other platforms like Android.

"Around 25% of our new products will be tablet friendly and we normally launch 70 to 80 new products a year," he said.

The products will be introduced around key retail dates such as spring, the back to school market in the summer, and Christmas when stocks are updated. The first products will likely go on sale between May and June so will have little impact on Logitech in fiscal 2011 which runs to the end of March.

But Labrousse said that "next year we expect some pretty good lift thanks to tablets," although he didn't supply any figures.

New products would likely include keyboards and audio devices like speakers and earphones.

Labrousse said the keyboard attachment rate for iPads was higher than on notebook computers.

"We know that on tablets the need for keyboards is even greater. There is a need for text entry devices; if you start to type a two page email on an iPad you will go mad."

He added that the tablet computer focus on media consumption makes earphones and speakers important. But, given the market is still very new, it is difficult to predict which peripherals will see the greatest demand.

"Many people buy one because they want one, without a specific need. It is a curiosity and it is hard to form a product strategy around something very volatile," he said.

Logitech will also continue to seek growth in its traditional PC business, he added.

Last week the company, which is based in Morges, Switzerland, reported record sales during its crucial third quarter.

Sales in the three months to Dec. 31 beat expectations, rising 22% to $754 million, while net profit rose 14% to $65 million.

Overall revenues from sales of mice rose by 12% during the quarter, and the number of units sold rose by 23%.

As a result Logitech increased its full year sales guidance to $2.4 billion-$2.42 billion, up from $2.35 billion-$2.4 billion.

Labrousse said: "Our core markets still have incredible growth opportunities in established markets and even bigger in emerging markets."

-By John Revill, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone] ; [e-mail]