Many years ago, in the days before GPS, I had a healthy fear of getting lost. Before going anywhere unfamiliar, I’d get explicit directions. Today, there’s absolutely no excuse for such a fear. It’s a lot harder to get lost today than it was 25 years ago. As a result, the fortunes of companies such as Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN) have risen considerably since the dawn of the 21st century. #-ad_banner-#From 2005 to 2008, GRMN seemed to go in only one direction: up. However, with the onset of the financial crisis, a sluggish economy, and increasing competition,… Read More
Many years ago, in the days before GPS, I had a healthy fear of getting lost. Before going anywhere unfamiliar, I’d get explicit directions. Today, there’s absolutely no excuse for such a fear. It’s a lot harder to get lost today than it was 25 years ago. As a result, the fortunes of companies such as Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN) have risen considerably since the dawn of the 21st century. #-ad_banner-#From 2005 to 2008, GRMN seemed to go in only one direction: up. However, with the onset of the financial crisis, a sluggish economy, and increasing competition, has Garmin lost its way? Critics might say so, but the company is far from lost. New Directions Garmin has been too reliant on its automotive segment, which accounted for $919 million in sales in the fiscal third quarter, 55% of the company’s total. While nearly a billion dollars in sales is nothing to sneeze at, that total was down 13% from the same quarter the previous year. There were some bright points, such as a multi-year agreement with Mercedes-Benz to be an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) for navigation equipment. In contrast to the automotive unit, Garmin’s marine and… Read More