Today, Black Friday (the Friday after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday), marks the traditional beginning of the holiday shopping period
This “sales holiday” weekend is bookended by Cyber Monday (30 November 2020), typically the largest sales day in the year for ecommerce
LIFX will be participating in the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales holiday both directly and via its retail partnerships worldwide
Focus for this sales holiday is maximising sell through, while maintaining strong margins and taking advantage of opportunities to sell aggressively in channels where competitor stock issues remain
LIFX.com will focus exclusively on LIFX Clean bundles, as the Company commences direct sales of its new antibacterial, germicidal smart light.
27 November 2020 - Adelaide, South Australia
Buddy Technologies Limited (“Company” (ASX:BUD), a leader in IoT and cloud-based solutions for making spaces smarter, is pleased to share details on its Black Friday/Cyber Monday holiday sales strategy for 2020. This sales holiday comprises the shopping days starting today, Black Friday (the Friday after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday) through Monday 30 November 2020, also known as Cyber Monday.
While promotional pricing and offers differ by region and by product, all promotional deals offered this year are net margin positive for the Company, with recent reductions in factory manufacturing costs, improvements in supply processes and direct shipment to some customers (eliminating some warehousing and handling costs) resulting in higher margins. Further, with the recent Amazon Prime Day sales success introducing hundreds of thousands of new customer households to LIFX, there is a near-zero cost opportunity to market to those new customers as they consider expanding their smart home installations.
U.S. and Canada
Black Friday/Cyber Monday (“BFCM” is a major shopping event in the North American retail market and the Company will be responding with deep discounts and significant promotion through major retail partners. Leading the charge will be Best Buy (U.S. and Canada) and Amazon, with discounts across many products in the LIFX product range of between 22% and 33%. The Company is also delighted to welcome home improvement and hardware chain Lowe's (NYSE:LOW, over 2,200 North American stores) to our family of retailers. To celebrate this launch, Lowe’s will offer the LIFX 1m Z Strip for only US$49.99, available both in store and online. As with all North American retail partners, Lowe’s is stocked with product, which will be on shelves when doors reopen later today after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Competitor stock levels in the United States and Canadian markets are such that this is a great opportunity for LIFX to capture more share, and to sell to customers who might already have competitor products in-house, but are willing to try alternative brands that have retail availability.
Figure 1: New products, new packaging, new retail locations, and attractive discounts for the Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales holiday are expected to kick off a strong holiday sales effort for LIFX smart lighting products
Europe
Reflecting the unique environment that the COVID-19 pandemic has created, the French retail industry has decided to postpone Black Friday by a week, to allow sufficient time for local retailers to reopen following the country’s lockdown from which they are just now emerging. In a show of solidarity, Amazon France has also agreed to delay their Black Friday promotions by a week, to Friday December 4th.
In the shadow of the pandemic in Europe, the growth in ecommerce has been dramatic, with many analysts now considering the fact that online shopping has now passed 50% of retail revenues, and in the Smart Home category most retail partners are now reporting over 75% of sales coming online. LIFX’s major retail partners will be driving significant activity through BFCM, with a general promotion level of 25% (and in some cases higher) from LIFX on our available inventory lines.
In addition to promotions being conducted for BFCM, over 50 new point-of-sale display units are being installed in French and Nordic retail locations this coming week in support of the annual Christmas sales.
Australia/NZ
In LIFX’s home market of Australia, the focus on Black Friday is increasing, but not yet at U.S. levels. Nonetheless, the focus will be on Australian retail partners, who will be offering 20% discounts across all LIFX products sold in Australia. This is a reflection of the already strong demand for LIFX products in Australia, and the fact that reduced competitor stock levels create an opportunity to grow share in the region.
Online - LIFX.com and regional sites
This year, the Company’s BFCM focus is nearly entirely on LIFX Clean. Customers will be able to purchase 2-packs of LIFX Clean for US$99 in the North American market, and A$139 in the Australian market. These Black Friday specials will actually form the launch of availability of LIFX Clean, with delivery of first BFCM orders in mid-December. Depending on sell-through demand, there will be additional batches of product available for delivery in mid-January and again in late-January.
The Company’s BFCM offer in Australia will be considerably bolstered by a LIFX Switch + LIFX White to Warm 4 pack bundle for $179, a $169.99 saving which effectively gives the 4-pack away for free with the purchase of a LIFX Switch.
The decision to focus primarily on LIFX Clean for the Company’s online store stems from a commitment the business has made to retail partners to stock them fully and first with the full range of LIFX’s current product range before doing so for LIFX.com. This also reflects the opportunity the Company has to reward early customers of LIFX Clean with the very first stock coming off the production line, in advance of larger orders being shipped out to major U.S., European and Australian retailers.
Update on PFG Refinancing
The Company can report that strong progress continues to be made on final documentation and due diligence on the finance facility offered by Partners for Growth (refer to the ASX announcement dated 21 October 2020). Completion of these steps remains on track to be achieved within the previously provided guidance of 45 business days from term sheet execution.
For and on behalf of Buddy Technologies Limited,
David P. McLauchlan
Chief Executive Officer
Buddy Technologies Limited.
BUD Price at posting:
5.1¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(ASX:BUD), a leader in IoT and cloud-based solutions for making spaces smarter, is pleased to share details on its Black Friday/Cyber Monday holiday sales strategy for 2020. This sales holiday comprises the shopping days starting today, Black Friday (the Friday after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday) through Monday 30 November 2020, also known as Cyber Monday.
