Huge increase in Garmin R&D spending pays off
Here's a quick bit that I came across today and thought that I would pass along......
Readers of the GPS Lodge know that Garmin has been introducing new GPS devices by the truckload since July..... the Garmin StreetPilots (i2, i3, i5, c340, 2720), the innovative Garmin nuvi, the bicyclist targeted Garmin Edge, the new FRS based RINO 520 and 530, the Garmin Mobile phone service, the Jeep Wrangler only Trail Guide, the iQue M3, the Garmin GPSMap 376c and the Quest 2 receiver... whew! Are there more, our sources say that there are. Ever wonder what's changed? A huge increase in R&D spending is what's changed. In 2003 R&D spending was a fraction of what it was the following year....
In 2003, R&D spending for Garmin was $43.7 Million (7.6% of revenue), and in 2004 R&D spending was $61.6 Million (8.1% of revenue), which is a 41% increase year over year. That's a huge increase in spending and investment in new products. With the lag between time of investment to rollout you can see why we are starting to see a wave of products coming out of the Garmin shop. Let's hope things keep up the breakneck pace, and we see some innovative products yet to come for the holiday season.
Now the linked article below deals with a comparison of Garmin and Lowrance from a financial standpoint. Check it out if you are interested as you may learn a little bit about how things are going at the two important GPS manufacturers.
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Posted by Scott Martin at September 20, 2005 9:40 PM
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