Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT), the leader in the connected health and fitness market, and Tmall.com, China’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers, owned by Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA), announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to significantly expand Fitbit’s reach in China. With the mission of helping people achieve a healthier, more active lifestyle, the partnership will introduce the Fitbit® platform to hundreds of millions of people across the country. The Fitbit platform – which consists of devices, apps, social and motivational features, advice and personalized coaching – helps people make behavioural changes to be more active, exercise more, eat smarter, track their sleep and manage their weight.
Alibaba and Fitbit today formalised their intent to enter into a strategic partnership at a signing ceremony at Alibaba’s global headquarters in Hangzhou, China. As part of this arrangement, Fitbit will establish a major retail presence on Alibaba’s Tmall.com online shopping site as one of Tmall’s key brand partners. Tmall will also aim to help Fitbit become one of the first 10 global brands within Tmall’s electronics category to achieve 10 million fans in Asia.
“Alibaba is the gateway to China for international brands seeking to access one of the world’s largest consumer markets, and we are pleased to announce this partnership to provide Chinese consumers greater access to Fitbit products,” said Hao Li, GM of 3Cs Business Unit of Alibaba. “Across China there is a growing interest in personal health, fitness and overall well-being, and we see very strong demand from our customers in these categories – specifically for Fitbit devices. We look forward to leveraging Fitbit’s leadership in the emerging field of connected health and fitness to connect our consumers with the budding national fitness craze.”
To introduce the retail partnership, Tmall.com plans to host a Fitbit Super Brand Day on May 18, to promote Fitbit’s newest devices,Fitbit Blaze™ and Fitbit Alta™ in China. This promotion will be Tmall.com’s first Super Brand Day for an activity tracker and will directly reach consumers via the Tmall.com portal and mobile app. On Super Brand Day, Fitbit will be one of the most promoted products on Tmall.com, with strong traffic directed to Tmall.com’s Fitbit page. Super Brand Day will extend Fitbit’s exposure to millions more Chinese consumers, helping build brand and category awareness across China. Fitbit Blaze and Fitbit Alta join the diverse line of award-winning products from Fitbit including Fitbit Surge™, Fitbit Charge HR™, Fitbit Flex®, Fitbit One® and Fitbit Zip® activity trackers, as well as the Aria® Wi-Fi Smart Scale. The products are part of the Fitbit platform, which empowers people with information, offering a fun and engaging experience, providing insights and guidance for users to get the most out of their trackers and help them reach their health, fitness and wellness goals.
“Since 2014, we’ve seen steady growth in the market as Chinese consumers become more aware of how Fitbit devices enable you to live a more balanced, more active life. Like millions of people around the world, Chinese consumers are finding that Fitbit can help you to make small changes, like walking more, that can add up to big health and fitness benefits,” said Woody Scal, Chief Business Officer at Fitbit. “In partnering with Alibaba’s Tmall, we have the opportunity to reach millions of Chinese consumers. We’ve always seen great potential in China, and we’re looking forward to launching the fashionable Fitbit Blaze and Alta devices through Tmall.”
Fitbit recently announced it had shipped more than one million Fitbit Blaze devices in its first month of availability in the U.S.,Europe, Australia and South Asia. The company also announced that more than one million Alta devices have shipped since it went on sale in the U.S. in March. (Original Source)
Shares of Fitbit are up 3% to $18.39 in pre-market trading. FIT has a 1-year high of $51.90 and a 1-year low of $11.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.40 and its 200-day moving average is $22.91.
On the ratings front, Fitbit has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. In a report issued on April 21, Cowen analyst John Kernan maintained a Hold rating on FIT, with a price target of $20, which implies an upside of 11.9% from current levels. Separately, on April 15, Piper Jaffray’s Erinn Murphy maintained a Hold rating on the stock and has a price target of $16.
According to TipRanks.com, which ranks over 7,500 financial analysts and bloggers to gauge the performance of their past recommendations, John Kernan and Erinn Murphy have a total average return of 2.2% and -10.9% respectively. Kernan has a success rate of 54.0% and is ranked #1427 out of 3839 analysts, while Murphy has a success rate of 36.5% and is ranked #3791.
Overall, 8 research analysts have assigned a Hold rating and 10 research analysts have given a Buy rating to the stock. When considering if perhaps the stock is under or overvalued, the average price target is $26.40 which is 47.7% above where the stock closed yesterday.
Fitbit, Inc. engages in the development of wearable device which tracks data of an individual’s health. It offers products which can track a person’s activities, such as calories burned, sleep quality, steps, and distance. The data collected allows an individual to monitor their progress towards their own personal goals. The company was founded by Eric N. Friedman & James Park in March, 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.
