Custom Systems Best Sellers: Speakers

For the second year in a row, Logitech International SA, took the lion's share of the multimedia speaker market. In 2007, it claimed 64.3 percent of the space, as determined by research firm NPD Group/Distribution.

The company outshone its competitors; next in the best-selling category was Altec Inc. with 11.8 percent of market share, down 2.8 percent from 2006, followed by Creative Labs Inc. with 7.6 percent of market share and a 3.1 percent year-over-year loss. Hardware giant Hewlett-Packard Corp. garnered just 1.8 percent of the market, down 1.9 percent in 2007. Rounding out the top five multimedia speaker vendors, NEC Mitsubishi took only 0.8 percent of the market, down 0.5 percent.

Huib Ponssen, product marketing director, Business Products Groups, at Logitech, said that, clearly, the business is all about the sound.

"We see tremendous growth in the business environment because users need a better sound experience," he said. "More and more businesses are using laptops and sometimes their sound cards are not so great."

He also sees the market trend leaning toward business users who need speakers for collaborative work tasks, such as digital content, online training, Web casts and podcasts.

Logitech's channel includes resellers, system builders, dealers and retailers.

The Fremont, Calif.-based company's value added reseller programs serve corporate businesses, and special accounts, such as regional resellers, government resellers and educational resellers. Partnering is central to its success, and it caters to different types of solution providers. The company's entry-level channel programs, Preferred Partners, help solution providers get their feet wet and access the Select Product line, designed for system builders, and the Enterprise Edition product line, designed for value added resellers.

The second program, Preferred Plus Partners, is a step up from the entry-level program and, according to the company, provides greater financial rewards and support.

The Elite Partner program provides the most rewards and the highest level of support to channel partners, including Elite product configurations that are tailored specifically for the volume needs of these partners. Huib estimates that Logitech has roughly 20,000 to 25,000 U.S. resellers.