Nixon Breaks Into New Category
kailee bradstreet
- October 17 2008
- 1,159 views
- 16 comments
Nearly ten years ago Nixon established itself in the custom-watch business when company founders saw an opportunity in the accessories market.
It was that same development and production strategy that led Nixon to begin work two years ago on a design that it hopes will push the company into a whole new category in the action-sports market. During the first week of November, Nixon’s three-piece headphone line will launch internationally in 25 percent of the company’s select retail shops. Nixon Founder Chad DiNenna and Director Of Product Design Eric Crane are focused on what they say most companies aren’t: creating a truly customized product instead of looking to what’s already been done. While it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, both say it’s a decision well worth the extra work.
“It’s been a real challenge to go from the bottom up, but we are really happy where we’ve ended up because of it,” says Crane. “We are basically treating the new line as a second core category, and the idea that we approached it that way, with all our guns blazing, has really started to pay off.”
The new line includes hand-stitched leather, suede, and stainless-steel parts with studio-quality speakers, and retails between 40 and 200 dollars depending on the style, driver size, and capabilities, according to Crane. The launch also comes on the heels of a total brand revolution, including Web site and overall brand logo redesigns. “It’s a big year for Nixon,” says Crane. “We want to continue to elevate the brand.”
“We are at the point with the brand where we have more resources than we’ve ever had before,” DiNenna agrees. “With an ad campaign to support this, with a killer quality product, with service and warranty, with the whole collection all at once, with all the things we’ve learned over the past ten years of doing watches—these are things we didn’t have going for us before.”
Why headphones? DiNenna says that while partnering with other brands in the past, Nixon often got suggestions from peers on what should come next. “People always say, ‘You know what? You should make this or you should make shoes or you should make sunglasses,’ but nothing ever really felt like a match for what we wanted to do.” Taking a look around at friends and co-workers and their interests and passions, DiNenna realized that centering a new product on music was the most logical transition.
The new product line will be available to retailers in four merchandise packages ranging from 18 to 60 units. The larger options include free-standing demo units and locking, stockable cabinet space.
While Nixon is still catering to the action-sports niche by placing the headphones with mostly core shops and retailers (besides longtime partner Barneys), the company hopes that its new product’s broad appeal will help gain more attention, even from those outside of the industry.
“We are able to get attention in publications like Transworld, but also in Maxim and Details and the whole spectrum of magazines out there,” says DiNenna. “What we see now is people reading those and going into our industry shops who would never go in before and asking for our product. We are bringing something to the industry that is going to help elevate it.”
Editor’s Note: In the print version of this story, Transworld Business wrote that these headphones range from 40 to 120 dollars. They actually range from 40 to 200 dollars. Also, they’re available in four merch packages ranging from 18 to 60 units.
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October 17th, 2008 at 11:51 am
what a bite on skull candy. Nixon, you are reaching. Electronics is a hard game. Bad move.
October 17th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Hmmm, Good Luck with that. I will say they look decent, but damn, I paid $15 for my sony ear buds that work better than all the skullcandy models I’ve listened to. Why pay for ONLY the name….
October 17th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I think its a great idea, you have to continue to push the envelope of your business and Nixon has clearly mastered the art of their category over the past ten years, just look at how hard it is to get a job there, Nixon doesnt even look for industry people anymore with great experience, they want non industry professionals to push there business into new categories outside of action sports/core retail shops, new direction to increase sales is more important now more than ever. Good job Nixon!
October 17th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Seriously, the only thing i headphones i use are made by sanyo.
October 17th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
“corpo”
Owned by Billabong and under pressure to grow numbers to please random public shareholders…
October 18th, 2008 at 5:48 am
it would be totally different if they had come up with something unique, like when Osiris first made the Gbag. This headphone doesnt even “look” unique. At least skull candy looks unique. Nixon should pull Luis Alverez into their office and ask him to ellaborate on the difficulties Osiris faced with trying to sell electronics, even with one hell of a breakthrough product they still failed. Wheres the gbag today?
October 18th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Not such a “untouched” market segment. With skull candy and Dr. Dre’s “custom headphones” this probably wasn’t the best idea. I wouldn’t buy them.
October 18th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I hate to jump on the nay-saying bandwagon, but its going to be an uphill battle for Nixon. Not only are you battling the audio quality and top-of-mind awareness of a brand like Bose, but their going to have to work double hard to try and out buzz the top of the line product by companies like Phiaton. And with Skull Candy in the mix, its just that many more cards stacked against them.
Of course people said the same thing about Nixon when they first came on the scene producing watches. They were going up against standards like Timex, Seiko, etc. on one end, and youth product like Swatch, Freestyle and G-Shock on the other.
I guess time will tell if DiNenna and co. are crazy like foxes - or just crazy.
October 19th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
wesc make them too…
October 20th, 2008 at 12:45 am
the ones wesc makes are actually from sennheiser. which means they are good. like really good.
October 20th, 2008 at 9:18 am
uh what? skull candy bit bose which bit harmon kardon who bit thomas jefferson. skull candy doesn’t have anything like these, its all plastic junk sold to teenagers
October 20th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Bose speakers are pure marketing hype. You can get better sound for a lot less. My friend who owns a high end audio store in Ketchum, ID won’t carry Bose in his store due to their crappy sound quality.
http://www.greengart.com/Columns/column005.htm
These headphones are going to appeal to people who appreciate good design just like skull candys appeal to certain people. Good job Nixon - these are dope!
October 20th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
well, at least nixon is a design centric brand so you can rock products that don’t look like a third-grader designed them? whether the quality is good or not skull candy looks like junk, ads, product, brand identity? etc?
October 20th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
For sure people either love Bose or they don’t.
Like a lot of people, I got mine because I hate those stupid little earbud things. Also, because I fly a lot, I wanted to get a pair of noise cancelling phones. I had a pair of Sony’s and thought they sucked (I didn’t try Sennheiser’s because I didn’t want an on-the-ear phone). Then I saw some Bose QC2’s at Costco and picked them up. Yeah, the fidelity not anywhere near the quality of an AKG or Grado - but they sound good enough, totally cut the engine/crying baby noise on flights, and are pretty F’n comfortable - even on long flights.
Again, I hope Chad & Crano can make lightning strike twice - but I think they have their work cut out for them.
November 11th, 2008 at 5:11 am
will be better than the plastic crap from skull candy.. a really smart move
November 17th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Check out that kook from Vestal in the latest blurb. - John Gehris - In one article he claims he was the founder. the next he bought the company in 2001 - he is such a liar (and a complete dork). Probably the most disliked person in the industry… Nixon - please keep smashing Vestal - lame people with no act should be leveled…
Oh ya… Nixon has the poise and ability to do what others have been unable to do. its called solid branding with quality product. although others have failed, They will succeed with headphones.
solid management , solid branding, solid product. keep up the good work.