2023-05-12 12:51:25
Balmuda has announced earnings results for Q1 FY12/23. Sales were 2,405 million yen, and net income was minus 1,144 million yen due to an extraordinary loss related to smartphones.
Mr. Terao
At the same time, the company announced on the 12th that it would withdraw from smartphone development. The “BALMUDA Phone” announced in November 2021 was the first and last terminal. On the other hand, the “BALMUDA Technologies” brand has announced its continuation, and new products are expected to appear in the future.
Withdrawing from smartphones, moving to IoT product development
Mr. Gen Terao, President and Representative Director of Balmuda, explained the circumstances leading to the withdrawal of smartphones.
As the environment surrounding the company becomes tougher due to exchange rate fluctuations and the end of special demand due to the corona crisis, it will concentrate management resources on strengthening the home appliance business and developing product genres that can demonstrate its originality. Although the specific field was not revealed, it was a genre that jumped over the home appliances that the company has worked on so far.
The company had been developing a successor model to the BALMUDA Phone, but gave up commercialization due to cost considerations. After that, the development of further new models was progressing, but this was also affected by exchange rate fluctuations, and due to problems such as price, the smartphone business ended in the form of postponement.
Mock during BALMDA Phone development
According to Terao, he decided to withdraw from smartphones in April. This is due to exchange rate fluctuations and soaring material prices. For Balmuda, a fabless manufacturer that does not have manufacturing facilities, the impact of this was reflected in the delivery price. Mr. Terao said that although he aimed to commercialize it until the last minute, “When I realized that it could not be commercialized at the stage of April, I thought that the time had come to make a comprehensive decision considering various circumstances.” speak.
On the other hand, we withdrew only from the development of smartphones. BALMUDA Technologies, the brand whose first product was the BALMUDA Phone, will continue. In addition, support for original apps released through the app store will continue.
Even though it was frustrating, he said, “It was a great challenge.”
Mr. Terao expressed his feelings about the withdrawal from smartphone development, saying, “I am full of frustration.” “It was a very good challenge,” he said.
Mr. Terao looks back on the biggest challenge in smartphone development, saying, “It was difficult to create the software.” “It required not only time and guts but also a lot of money. We weren’t able to fully compete due to the difference in the scale of Balmuda and the size of the smartphone market,” he said.
Original app for BALMUDA Phone
On the other hand, he commented, “Continuing to take on challenges is in Balmuda’s DNA. It was a good thing that we went there without hesitation,” even though it ended up in the form of withdrawal. “I’ve never experienced spending so much time, trying so hard, trying so much, and not being able to show most of it. As the person in charge, I’m filled with frustration,” he said.
He says that he has sufficiently cultivated knowledge of software development, “I think it will be very useful for future business development.” Mr. Terao said that through the development of smartphones, he realized the necessity of IoT home appliances, which he had previously thought unnecessary. I wanted to make an announcement.
Mr. Terao entered the smartphone business with extraordinary enthusiasm. Regarding the possibility of re-entry in the future, he said, “If God says it’s okay to do it again. I’d like to consider it carefully.” Terao reveals, “There are external factors, but we were keenly aware of our own inadequacies.” On the other hand, “I think it was a great challenge. If I went back a few years ago, I would have made the exact same decision.”
In addition, he said, “I love the BALMUDA Phone that we made. It’s easy to hold, so it reduces stress and is easy to use. I have five phones for myself, so I don’t have to worry about using my phone for a while.”
[Apology and correction]
There were some errors in the notation of Mr. Terao’s name. I apologize and will correct it.
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