Misfit Wearables, also known as Misfit, is a hardware company that designs and manufactures wearable products that utilize sensor technology. Fossil Group has agreed to acquire Misfit, maker of wearable activity trackers for $260M in a major deal uniting traditional watchmakers with Silicon Valley talent. Misfit has previously partnered with Speedo and Swarovski to create brand specific trackers as well. Misfit’s line of round-faced fitness and sleep monitors, called Shine, had a fashion-conscious design from the start. The startup’s first product came out in 2013 after a successful Indiegogo campaign.
“If you don’t have a brand it is hard to be legit in this space,” said Sonny Vu, chief executive and co-founder of Misfit. He will become president and chief technology officer of connected devices for Fossil Group after the transaction closes, which Fossil expects before the end of the year.
Like the Shine 2, which lasts up to six months on a coin battery — and some smarthome products like sleep monitors and smart bulbs. Being a stand-alone fitness tracking startup has gotten harder in the past year, as competition has intensified. Companies such as Xiaomi released cheap variants, at the same time Apple Inc. entered the fray with its Watch, which has similar sleep- and fitness-monitoring functionality.
"With the acquisition of Misfit, Fossil Group will be uniquely positioned to lead the convergence of style and technology and to become the fashion gateway to the high-growth wearable technology and connected device markets." Kosta Kartsotis, CEO of Fossil Group said in a statement.
