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I would think that Google's first choice was Garmin. In my personal opinion, they have better watch products. It was reported last month that Fitbit engaged Qa

I would think that Google's first choice was Garmin. In my personal opinion, they have better watch products. It was reported last month that Fitbit engaged Qatalyst for a sale. I wonder who leaked the news to Reuters, which did not mention a price: was it Qatalyst, hoping to start a bidding war?

gamblor956 7y ago
Probably, but it's unlikely that Garmin would sell to Google.
- dblock 7y ago
  For runners Garmin is far more reliable and superior in every way. Fitbit is cheap. I think google wants data from more people, and Fitbit is a distressed asset, so good opportunity.
- mbesto 7y ago
  Why do you say that? Everyone has a price.
AgloeDreams 7y ago
Sales numbers talk, happy customers walk. Fitbit sells tons (likely 10x that of Garmin), while they are poorly rated. Garmin really doesn't as much even though their products are quite well liked. Google wants the brand.
- jcdavis 7y ago
  Its closer than you might think - Fitbit did $1.5B in rev last year. Haven't check their filings but presumably thats almost all from their devices. Garmin did $858m in rev last year from their "fitness" segment. Plus some fraction of their $809m "outdoor" segment includes the Fenix line, which is also in the same category. So probably $1B+ total
  - AgloeDreams 7y ago
    Fair point actually, it is closer than I thought my apologies. Garmin makes a lot more money per unit. (Avg selling price of likely over $300) Fitbit sells many more units per year (@~$130/unit), which is scalable.
    - jcdavis 7y ago
      that is definitely true
deskamess 7y ago
I am a happy user of their minimal Vivofit 2 watch. No heartbeat but some nice sleep metrics and the usual step metric. Most important: the battery means no USB charging for a year+; I pretty much never take it off. The occasional sync to my phone and we are good.
ip26 7y ago
Perhaps, but Garmin's core business is GPS technology, not smart watches. Buying Garmin for smart watches would be like, I don't know, buying Google to get YouTube.
gniv 7y ago
Garmin is $16.5B. Fitbit is $1.5B (post news pump).
colechristensen 7y ago
Garmin does quite a bit of business outside the consumer market which is way outside of Alphabet's wheelhouse. For example, they have an aviation division which produces radars and glass cockpits for government and defense. If they were having trouble with their consumer lines (which by all appearances seem to be thriving) they might spin it off and sell it, but the whole company seems a bad match for an Alphabet acquisition.
bransonf 7y ago
I don't think Google has a shot at acquiring Garmin though. Garmin has no reason to sell. Garmin has their own growth. In fact, Garmin is the only wearable market that I've noticed growing in the last 3-4 years (Apple is gaining traction obviously, but the Apple Watch is only a small bit of their market). Fitbit is failing, they're in desperate need of an acquisition. If you own a Garmin watch (Forerunner line for example), you'll understand. It has all the fitness tracking of a Fitbit, an always-on color display, best in class GPS, and several days/a week of battery life. And, their luxury watches are really uncontested for the mountain/marine/extreme market. Frankly, the build quality is better than much of the market as well. The software is less than Apple, but better than Fitbit. The wearable market is becoming narrower and narrower, and I really think it will come down to Apple, Google and Garmin. In the wearable space, Apple and Google make flashy gadgets, essentially. This is great for the business people/casuals. But Garmin is capturing a whole different market. I don't see many competitors in the athletic (marathon, triathlete, ironman) market, and even less so in the extreme (mountain, marine exploration) market. Take what I'm saying with a grain of salt though, I got my whole family hooked on Garmin devices, myself coming from their line of bike GPS. I've also invested in Garmin for several years now.
- thevagrant 7y ago
  I also got hooked on Garmin. The functionality on my 645m is good. The battery is great. The device is rugged enough. It has it's won GPS, I don't need a phone when I'm out running. The best part is it looks good enough to wear to work etc without shouting 'Apple watch or Fitbit'.

gamblor956 7y ago

Probably, but it's unlikely that Garmin would sell to Google.

dblock 7y ago
For runners Garmin is far more reliable and superior in every way. Fitbit is cheap. I think google wants data from more people, and Fitbit is a distressed asset, so good opportunity.
mbesto 7y ago
Why do you say that? Everyone has a price.

AgloeDreams 7y ago

Sales numbers talk, happy customers walk. Fitbit sells tons (likely 10x that of Garmin), while they are poorly rated. Garmin really doesn't as much even though their products are quite well liked. Google wants the brand.

jcdavis 7y ago
Its closer than you might think - Fitbit did $1.5B in rev last year. Haven't check their filings but presumably thats almost all from their devices. Garmin did $858m in rev last year from their "fitness" segment. Plus some fraction of their $809m "outdoor" segment includes the Fenix line, which is also in the same category. So probably $1B+ total
- AgloeDreams 7y ago
  Fair point actually, it is closer than I thought my apologies. Garmin makes a lot more money per unit. (Avg selling price of likely over $300) Fitbit sells many more units per year (@~$130/unit), which is scalable.
  - jcdavis 7y ago
    that is definitely true

deskamess 7y ago

I am a happy user of their minimal Vivofit 2 watch. No heartbeat but some nice sleep metrics and the usual step metric. Most important: the battery means no USB charging for a year+; I pretty much never take it off. The occasional sync to my phone and we are good.

ip26 7y ago

Perhaps, but Garmin's core business is GPS technology, not smart watches. Buying Garmin for smart watches would be like, I don't know, buying Google to get YouTube.

gniv 7y ago

Garmin is $16.5B. Fitbit is $1.5B (post news pump).

colechristensen 7y ago

Garmin does quite a bit of business outside the consumer market which is way outside of Alphabet's wheelhouse. For example, they have an aviation division which produces radars and glass cockpits for government and defense. If they were having trouble with their consumer lines (which by all appearances seem to be thriving) they might spin it off and sell it, but the whole company seems a bad match for an Alphabet acquisition.

bransonf 7y ago

I don't think Google has a shot at acquiring Garmin though. Garmin has no reason to sell. Garmin has their own growth. In fact, Garmin is the only wearable market that I've noticed growing in the last 3-4 years (Apple is gaining traction obviously, but the Apple Watch is only a small bit of their market). Fitbit is failing, they're in desperate need of an acquisition. If you own a Garmin watch (Forerunner line for example), you'll understand. It has all the fitness tracking of a Fitbit, an always-on color display, best in class GPS, and several days/a week of battery life. And, their luxury watches are really uncontested for the mountain/marine/extreme market. Frankly, the build quality is better than much of the market as well. The software is less than Apple, but better than Fitbit. The wearable market is becoming narrower and narrower, and I really think it will come down to Apple, Google and Garmin. In the wearable space, Apple and Google make flashy gadgets, essentially. This is great for the business people/casuals. But Garmin is capturing a whole different market. I don't see many competitors in the athletic (marathon, triathlete, ironman) market, and even less so in the extreme (mountain, marine exploration) market. Take what I'm saying with a grain of salt though, I got my whole family hooked on Garmin devices, myself coming from their line of bike GPS. I've also invested in Garmin for several years now.

thevagrant 7y ago
I also got hooked on Garmin. The functionality on my 645m is good. The battery is great. The device is rugged enough. It has it's won GPS, I don't need a phone when I'm out running. The best part is it looks good enough to wear to work etc without shouting 'Apple watch or Fitbit'.