Adidas and New Balance have joined the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) in yet another sign of how important the sector has become to sporting goods brands.
The two companies, as well as Timex, L'Oreal and the ridesharing companies Lyft and Ridescout are among the companies who have recently joined CEA as they work to leverage growing connectivity to expand quickly into the fitness, smart watch and wearables category. According to CEA’s U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecast (July 2014), fitness and activity tracking devices and smart watches are expected to surpass $1 billion in the U.S. in 2014, a 26 percent increase over 2013.
“Timex is one of the world’s largest watchmakers,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. “Adidas and New Balance are among the best-known sports brands on the planet. And L’Orl is the global leader in beauty. Yet as varied as these companies are, they’re united by the potential they see for their products to better serve consumers dxpand, reaching into new markets, transforming old business models and providing benefits across all aspects of consumers’ lives."
CEA's flagship tradeshow, CES, emerged last year as a major launching pad for activity and fitness trackers, smart watches and other wearable technology that are among the fastest growing categories in sporting goods. This year's CES kicks off Jan. 4 in Las Vegas.
