User:CiaraAislingLoughnane/sandbox

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Logitech International S.A. (/ˈlɒdʒɪtɛk/ LAW-jih-tek) is a Swiss provider of personal computer and mobile peripherals, with its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland and administrative headquarters in Newark, California. In addition to its Swiss and American facilities, the company has offices throughout Europe, Asia and the rest of the Americas. Logitech's sales and marketing activities are organized into four geographic regions: Americas, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific.

The company develops and markets personal peripherals for PC navigation, video communication and collaboration, music and smart homes. This includes products like keyboards, mice, tablet accessories, webcams, Bluetooth speakers, universal remotes and more.

History[edit]

Logitech was officially founded in 1981 in Apples, Switzerland as a software development and hardware architecture company by two Stanford graduate students, Daniel Borel and Pierluigi Zappacosta, and a former Olivetti engineer, Giacomo Marini[1]. The founders chose the name Logitech based on the French word for software, “logiciel”[2]. The company was originally focused on software, and wanted to develop a software product that would let users interact with a computer visually. Logitech realized that the computer mouse was a growth opportunity, and their decision to produce one became a turning point for the company. Logitech introduced its first hardware device, the P4 mouse, for users of graphic software in 1982[3][4].

Since then, Logitech has expanded its product portfolio far beyond computer mice. In 1988, the company produced its first non-mouse peripheral, a handheld scanner[5]. Over the coming years, Logitech introduced products to their portfolio including computer keyboards, a digital still camera, a headphone/microphone, a joystick gaming peripheral, and a webcam on a flexible arm[4]. The company continued to be an innovator in the computer mouse market and create many industry firsts, including the first infrared cordless mouse, thumb-operated trackball mouse, laser mouse, and more[6].

Starting in 1981, founders Daniel Borel and Pierluigi Zappacosta shared CEO duties. However, in 1997, Zappacosta left Logitech to become chairman of Digital Persona Inc. and Borel retired to the position of company chairman the following year[5]. Logitech then brought in Guerrino De Luca, a former executive at Apple Computer, to fill the role of CEO in 1998[5].

De Luca lead the company for over a decade, before Gerald Quindlen took on the role in 2008. Quindlen held the CEO position until 2012, when the company began to experience net losses and profits began to take a downturn due to a changing technology market and distribution issues in Europe[7]. De Luca then returned to the CEO position on an interim basis until the company’s current CEO, Bracken Darrell was selected in 2012. Since Darrell became CEO, Logitech has begun to focus heavily on its gaming category, creativity and productivity division, and video collaboration. Darrell has stated that “nothing is recession proof, but these categories are recession resistant. In a down environment people are going to cut their travel budgets, so video will go up. In gaming, in a down environment people don’t want to go out so much and spend as much money, so they will probably play more games.”[8]

Product and Brands[edit]

Logitech is the parent company for six separate brands: Logitech, Logitech G, Ultimate Ears, Jaybird, Astro Gaming, Blue Microphones[9], and Streamlabs[10].

The Logitech brand focuses on various creativity and productivity product offerings, such as mice, keyboards, webcams, video collaboration products, and smart home devices.[11]

Logitech G was created by Logitech after the success of their GSeries gaming products in 2014. The brand creates PC gaming peripherals such as headsets, keyboards, mice, and racing wheels.[12]

Ultimate Ears was acquired in 2008 for $34 million USD and creates portable Bluetooth speakers and professional in-ear monitors.[13]

In 2016, Logitech acquired Jaybird for $50 million USD. The brand creates wireless headphones marketed for running and other outdoor activities.[14]

ASTRO Gaming was acquired by Logitech in 2017 for $85 million USD. ASTRO Gaming focuses on producing console gaming headsets.

Logitech acquired Blue Microphones in 2018 for $117 million. Blue is known for USB condenser microphones.[15]

Most Recently, Logitech acquired Streamlabs, a livestreaming software company, in 2019 for approximately $89 million.[10]

Logo History[edit]

1981-1988[8][16]
1996-2005[17][18]
2012-2015[13][14]
2015-Present[19][15]

In the late 1980s, Logitech hired design agency Frog Design, to create a logo for the company. Designer Timothy Wilkinson created the first company logo, which the company used from 1988 to 1996. Wilkinson stated that the design was based off of the founders “description of a future in which Logitech would play a vital role in we human being’s increasingly common, everyday interactions with our evermore familiar computers”[20].

The company updated the logo in 1996, with a refreshed design from Wilkinson[21].

In 2015, the company retired the original design in favor of something more “youthful”, according to Logitech CEO Bracken Darrell. The newest logo was designed in collaboration with London based design company, DesignStudio[22]. The new logo “nods to Logitech’s 30-year heritage with the use of the Brown Pro typeface, designed by Aurele Sack from Lausanne, Switzerland, the birthplace of Logitech and still where its headquarters are based.”[23]

  1. ^ "Logitech History" (PDF). logitech.com. Logitech. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  2. ^ Campbell-Dollaghan, Kelsey. "The Life and Untimely Death of Technology's Weirdest Logo". Gizmodo. Gizmodo. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  3. ^ "Logitech History" (PDF). Logitech.com. Logitech. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Hitt, Michael; Duane, Ireland; Hoskisson, Robert (2014). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization. Cengage Learning, 2014. p. 273. ISBN 9781305142732.
  5. ^ a b c "Logitech International S.A. History". Funding Universe. Funding Universe. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  6. ^ "The Logitech Story". www.logitech.com. Retrieved 2019-07-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Mijuk, Goran (2011-07-28). "Logitech's CEO Resigns Amid Recent Stumbles". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  8. ^ a b "Logitech can consider much bigger deals than before: CEO". Reuters. 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  9. ^ Welch, Chris (2018-07-30). "Logitech is acquiring Blue Microphones for $117 million in cash". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  10. ^ a b Peters, Jay (2019-09-26). "Logitech is buying Streamlabs for $89 million". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  11. ^ "Better Buy: Logitech International vs. Turtle Beach Corporation". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  12. ^ Fenlon, Wes (2014-11-25). "Inside Logitech: How gaming mice are built and tested". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  13. ^ a b "Logitech Buys Ultimate Ears for $34 Million". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  14. ^ a b Goode, Lauren (2016-04-12). "Logitech buys audio device maker Jaybird for $50 million in cash". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  15. ^ a b Welch, Chris (2018-07-30). "Logitech is acquiring Blue Microphones for $117 million in cash". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  16. ^ "new logitech logo by designstudio". designboom | architecture & design magazine. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  17. ^ UnderConsideration. "It Defies Tech". www.underconsideration.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  18. ^ "new logitech logo by designstudio". designboom | architecture & design magazine. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  19. ^ UnderConsideration. "It Defies Tech". www.underconsideration.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  20. ^ "The Life and Untimely Death of Technology's Weirdest Logo". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  21. ^ "The Life and Untimely Death of Technology's Weirdest Logo". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  22. ^ UnderConsideration. "It Defies Tech". www.underconsideration.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  23. ^ UnderConsideration. "It Defies Tech". www.underconsideration.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
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