GN, the world leader in innovative headset solutions, today announced that it will offer its entire spectrum of product portfolio under the Jabra brand. Having made its initial foray in the Indian market in the 2nd quarter of 2005 with its range of hands-free mobile products, GN has decided to tap the hereto relatively untapped market of the booming Contact Center industry, office and enterprise product segments in the country.

Armed with its latest range of cutting edge technology products, Jabra is set to expand its reach to over 1500 stores by end of 2007 for its Bluetooth mobile headsets and thereon continue to consolidate its position through foray in organized retail formats. In its endeavour to achieve this objective, the global leader has appointed Salora International and Faxtel Systems to lead its initiative. Salora International will cater to the markets of North, and West, while Faxtel Systems will cover the southern and eastern markets.

For the contact center, enterprise and office products segments, GN has tied up with established players viz., Innova Telecom and Avaya GlobalConnect, who already have strong presence in the Indian booming contact center space and are making rapid inroads in the office and enterprise segment. GN in its last few years in the country has already cornered a 25% market share in this space.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Christian-Tang Jespersen, Senior Vice President APAC, GN A/S said, “India is one of the fastest growing market for telecom services and telecom products in the world today and riding on that boom has also established itself as a major hub for IT enabled services. These trends coupled with the changing busy lifestyles of the Indian consumers have also given rise to demand for products that not only focus on ergonomics, freedom, efficiency and increased productivity but also at the same time provide the consumer with high end luxury lifestyle accessories that complement their personal style.”

Jabra products today world over are reckoned as one of the most popular and best selling corded, Bluetooth and wireless headsets that have won not just numerous awards but have also won the trust of its customers across different segments. GN is also recognized as one of the largest OEM suppliers of Bluetooth headsets to a number of prestigious mobile handset brands.

Elaborating on the company’s plans for the Indian market, Mr Vincent Peña, Regional Managing Director, Middle East, Africa, India, GN, said, “Since our foray in the Indian market in 2005, we have been selling our products as Jabra for the mobile segment and as GN Netcom in the contact center industry. We will now leverage only Jabra to market products across the four segments of contact center, office, enterprise and mobile to garner higher mindshare and market share for our products.”

“Today we have one of the largest ranges of products across segments that straddle all price points and offer consumers cutting edge technology that not only deliver crystal clear voice-clarity but also new age ergonomic designs. With our new partners in progress by our side, we are confident that the Indian market will soon have access to a range that not only appeals to their sensory experience but also suits their wallets,” added Peña.

According to a recent Frost & Sullivan report, the Professional (Contact Center & Enterprise) headset market in India has witnessed a year on year growth of 42% in 2005 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21% over the next 5 years, which will be driven by the contact center and IT enterprise segment through addition of new seats and replacement of handsets by headsets.

“The APAC region will see the fastest growth rate in adoption of Bluetooth headsets in India in the coming 5 years. The Indian Bluetooth headset market is expected to grow at CAGR 74% as against48% of China. Further more the Indian market is expected to surpass the combined market size of the Australian continent in the next 3 years alone”, Source IMS Survey, April 2007

The growth in the mobile headset segment is also going to be driven by the ongoing revamp and restructuring of the retail sector which is making way for new retail formats that include departmental stores, supermarkets, specialty stores and hypermarkets, backed by the strong GDP growth in the next 5 years.

GN is leading the hands-free charge and consumers are taking to the new technologies quickly and in ever increasing numbers. According to IMS Research, the worldwide market for Bluetooth headsets in 2006 was approximately 53.5 million units. That is expected to reach 68.4 million in 2007 and top the 199 million mark by 2011.

GN has done well. It enjoys a 30 per cent share of the call centre and enterprise markets worldwide in 2006 and a 25 per cent share in the mobile segment. "We manufactured 27 million headsets in 2006. That works out to around 50 units every minute of the year, or roughly half the total number sold," said Tang-Jespersen.

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About GN

Through its Jabra brand, GN is a world leader in innovative headset solutions. With 1,800 employees and sales offices around the world, GN develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of wireless headsets for mobile users and both wireless and corded headsets for contact centre and office-based users. GN’s business activities also include its original equipment manufacturing (OEM) business. GN has been helping people communicate since 1869 and is a listed company on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

Jabra® is a registered trademark of GN A/S. All other trademarks included herein are the property of their respective owners. The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by GN A/S is under license.

For further information, please visit http://www.jabra.com/