Halfords - Sat Navs driving poor sales
Discussion
Will not Sat Nav's reach a plateau whereby 99% of the UK has one that works fine and once we reach that point sales of new ones will really fall - only need to replace one if it breaks.
I cannot believe Halfords is strictly aiming for this to drive their sales.
In many ways I can see Halfords going under - I mean tesco etc basically sell everything Halfords does (or they could do) so why bother with it?
I cannot believe Halfords is strictly aiming for this to drive their sales.
In many ways I can see Halfords going under - I mean tesco etc basically sell everything Halfords does (or they could do) so why bother with it?
Welshbeef said:
Will not Sat Nav's reach a plateau whereby 99% of the UK has one that works fine and once we reach that point sales of new ones will really fall - only need to replace one if it breaks.
I cannot believe Halfords is strictly aiming for this to drive their sales.
In many ways I can see Halfords going under - I mean tesco etc basically sell everything Halfords does (or they could do) so why bother with it?
What about new drivers? People who buy their first car? Immigrants? These are a few examples of the types of new customers available every day...I cannot believe Halfords is strictly aiming for this to drive their sales.
In many ways I can see Halfords going under - I mean tesco etc basically sell everything Halfords does (or they could do) so why bother with it?
Then we can start on the new technologies which become available...
Edited by Fivestar on Thursday 15th January 10:33
Well, when everyone has a normal satnav, they will have to buy a widescreen one, and then they will have to buy an HD-Ready one, and then they will realise it won't do HD, so they will have to buy a real HD one. And then the satellite frequencies will change so they'll need another one.
... that's five. So one every two years and that's the satnav industry OK until 2019
The remarkable thing is that we managed to find our way from door to door without undue difficulty before satnav - I remeber plotting and navigating my parent's car all the way to Scotland, and I could get to any address in London with a Streetfinder. Reps did it all the time. But now if you show anyone under 20 a map they panic.
... that's five. So one every two years and that's the satnav industry OK until 2019
The remarkable thing is that we managed to find our way from door to door without undue difficulty before satnav - I remeber plotting and navigating my parent's car all the way to Scotland, and I could get to any address in London with a Streetfinder. Reps did it all the time. But now if you show anyone under 20 a map they panic.
Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 15th January 10:38
Plotloss said:
We have one of the highest densities of mobile phones in the world, yet there are still a LOT of mobile phone companies.
Mobile phone sales are a misnomer. The phone companies are selling call contracts and throw a phone in with it. Seeming people typically renew their contracts every 12 to 18 months, they also get a shiney new phone thrown in.
People who buy Satnav are unlikely to change as often, in my opinion.
It's very much like the situation with Jessops when the digital camera sales reached saturation.
Edited by 10 Pence Short on Thursday 15th January 10:37
JulianHJ said:
Cameras are a bit more like AV kit though? More megapixels, video, HD video, smaller, lighter, more wizzy connections to your printer/computer etc.
Although it's not a bad comparison; both products will do the job you want (sat nav vs camera) but there are newer/better ones on the market.JulianHJ said:
Cameras are a bit more like AV kit though? More megapixels, video, HD video, smaller, lighter, more wizzy connections to your printer/computer etc.
The point I was making was that Jessops expanded rapidly on the back of the digital camera 'revolution'. This market has saturated, leaving Jessops in the sh*t as new sales dry up and those they can get have tiny margins as they compete with the internet over early adopters.Whilst there are people who will want the latest gadget, they are typically in the minority. Most people will stick to what they've got until it breaks, it's completely obsolete or a small amount of cash achieves a massive improvement.
There's still a huge untapped market out there: the minicabs.
Once they start buying them the industry will continue.
And as everyone else says, they will advance. I can see the day when they project an image onto the screen like a head-up display, and can even highlight on the windscreen which turning it is, so you cant miss. And then there's visual highlighting of signs, dangerous areas, safety cameras, and the compter can recognise and prioritise potential danger areas (like old woman walking along the pavemen ta low priority for an accident, but a young child on a bike a big priority for the "watch out" element.
I believe a lot of this stuff is possible in the military, so its just about applying it for commercial use.
Once they start buying them the industry will continue.
And as everyone else says, they will advance. I can see the day when they project an image onto the screen like a head-up display, and can even highlight on the windscreen which turning it is, so you cant miss. And then there's visual highlighting of signs, dangerous areas, safety cameras, and the compter can recognise and prioritise potential danger areas (like old woman walking along the pavemen ta low priority for an accident, but a young child on a bike a big priority for the "watch out" element.
I believe a lot of this stuff is possible in the military, so its just about applying it for commercial use.
10 Pence Short said:
It's very much like the situation which Jessops when the digital camera sales reached saturation.
I'd guess 80% of Jessops's buisness is digital cameras sales (and they're still going), I'd guess less than 10% of Halfords buisness is sat nav units so I think they'll be ok.10 Pence Short said:
Plotloss said:
We have one of the highest densities of mobile phones in the world, yet there are still a LOT of mobile phone companies.
Mobile phone sales are a misnomer. The phone companies are selling call contracts and throw a phone in with it. Seeming people typically renew their contracts every 12 to 18 months, they also get a shiney new phone thrown in.
People who buy Satnav are unlikely to change as often, in my opinion.
It's very much like the situation with Jessops when the digital camera sales reached saturation.
Edited by 10 Pence Short on Thursday 15th January 10:37
People know their contract would be cheaper if they stuck with the phone they had but they dont, usually on a feature/functionality basis hence the fact that new phones are constantly sold.
I agree with the fact that it isnt as acute with SatNavs however the current TomToms are a lot better than the first ones, for instance.
sniff diesel said:
10 Pence Short said:
It's very much like the situation which Jessops when the digital camera sales reached saturation.
I'd guess 80% of Jessops's buisness is digital cameras sales (and they're still going), I'd guess less than 10% of Halfords buisness is sat nav units so I think they'll be ok.The questions to ask are; how much of the total profit is through satnavs; how much profit is derived from people entering the store only to buy satnavs who then buy add-ons (such as a ltre of oil or some polish etc) and what would the figures have been if you took satnav out of the equation altogether?
Plotloss said:
10 Pence Short said:
Plotloss said:
We have one of the highest densities of mobile phones in the world, yet there are still a LOT of mobile phone companies.
Mobile phone sales are a misnomer. The phone companies are selling call contracts and throw a phone in with it. Seeming people typically renew their contracts every 12 to 18 months, they also get a shiney new phone thrown in.
People who buy Satnav are unlikely to change as often, in my opinion.
It's very much like the situation with Jessops when the digital camera sales reached saturation.
Edited by 10 Pence Short on Thursday 15th January 10:37
People know their contract would be cheaper if they stuck with the phone they had but they dont, usually on a feature/functionality basis hence the fact that new phones are constantly sold.
I agree with the fact that it isnt as acute with SatNavs however the current TomToms are a lot better than the first ones, for instance.
10 Pence Short said:
Plotloss said:
10 Pence Short said:
Plotloss said:
We have one of the highest densities of mobile phones in the world, yet there are still a LOT of mobile phone companies.
Mobile phone sales are a misnomer. The phone companies are selling call contracts and throw a phone in with it. Seeming people typically renew their contracts every 12 to 18 months, they also get a shiney new phone thrown in.
People who buy Satnav are unlikely to change as often, in my opinion.
It's very much like the situation with Jessops when the digital camera sales reached saturation.
Edited by 10 Pence Short on Thursday 15th January 10:37
People know their contract would be cheaper if they stuck with the phone they had but they dont, usually on a feature/functionality basis hence the fact that new phones are constantly sold.
I agree with the fact that it isnt as acute with SatNavs however the current TomToms are a lot better than the first ones, for instance.
Sat Navs will reach relative saturation within the next 5/10 years I'd guess. But then, like mobile phones, the battle will move onto services as well as the handsets themselves.
Everyone will have a Sat nav, but they will then still need map updates (real time?), traffic (reliable - maybe different provider choice), interactive services (TomTom started this with the buddy service), and then other services that aren't really related to Sat nav - e.g. weather, web, RSS etc
I still like inbuilt navs, as the vehicle integration is so much better, and it's much tidier. Although these currently offer poor value compared to a £100 TomTom. I guess what I'd like to see would be an industry standard mount, that is integrated (as an option) into vehicles, that looks tidy, powers the device - and maybe features external GPS reception etc.
Everyone will have a Sat nav, but they will then still need map updates (real time?), traffic (reliable - maybe different provider choice), interactive services (TomTom started this with the buddy service), and then other services that aren't really related to Sat nav - e.g. weather, web, RSS etc
I still like inbuilt navs, as the vehicle integration is so much better, and it's much tidier. Although these currently offer poor value compared to a £100 TomTom. I guess what I'd like to see would be an industry standard mount, that is integrated (as an option) into vehicles, that looks tidy, powers the device - and maybe features external GPS reception etc.
10 Pence Short said:
sniff diesel said:
10 Pence Short said:
It's very much like the situation which Jessops when the digital camera sales reached saturation.
I'd guess 80% of Jessops's buisness is digital cameras sales (and they're still going), I'd guess less than 10% of Halfords buisness is sat nav units so I think they'll be ok.The questions to ask are; how much of the total profit is through satnavs; how much profit is derived from people entering the store only to buy satnavs who then buy add-ons (such as a ltre of oil or some polish etc) and what would the figures have been if you took satnav out of the equation altogether?
sniff diesel said:
10 Pence Short said:
It's very much like the situation which Jessops when the digital camera sales reached saturation.
I'd guess 80% of Jessops's buisness is digital cameras sales (and they're still going), I'd guess less than 10% of Halfords buisness is sat nav units so I think they'll be ok.JulianHJ said:
Cameras are a bit more like AV kit though? More megapixels, video, HD video, smaller, lighter, more wizzy connections to your printer/computer etc.
But frankly the difference between say a 5MP and a 9MP isnt that much and unless your putting it onto a big screen you'd be hard pressed to see much difference. Especially when it comes down to hard £x more for the slightly better model. Sat Navs - you can get the new maps online, I guess the only readon you might change is if the map downloads cost very similar to a brand new one with them included + new options.
Other than that the sat nav is for navigation - I have an Ipod & MP3 player i dont need to have songs in the sat nav I want them in my car stereo.
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