Cobra 2009 Annual Report Download - page 4

Letter to Shareholders
As the global economy emerges from its most difficult
period since the Great Depression of the early 20th
century, Cobra’s multi-faceted approach to dealing with
the downturn is being validated. As management set a
strategy for dealing with the economic decline, our objective was
to emerge as a stronger and more nimble competitor in the global
marketplace. As such, we looked beyond cost containment and
working capital management – critical initiatives given the depth
of the downturn – to product development and the expansion of
marketing and distribution channels.
Cobra acquired Performance Products Limited (PPL) in 2006,
with a view towards the strategic integration of PPL’s technology
and distribution channels with those of Cobra. In 2009, we saw
tangible results of these initiatives in new products, enhanced
distribution and marketing channels and new strategic ventures.
PPL’s Truckmate™ and Ventura™ products, providing navigation
and routing assistance for truck and recreational vehicle drivers,
have been tremendously successful in Europe and led to the launch
of the Cobra 7700 PRO, a navigation unit for professional drivers
in North America. While providing unique capabilities to meet the
needs of each market, the European and North American products
share hardware and operating system platforms, substantially
reducing the investment required to launch these products.
The acquisition of PPL has also led to the development and
launch of the AURATM database, a global photo-enforcement
database, with tens of thousands of safety warnings to alert drivers
to speed and red light cameras, high accident zones and other road
hazards. AURA is featured in both Cobra and PPL products, and we
announced in January 2010 a partnership with Motorola to include
the AURA database in navigation units sold in North America and
Europe. We anticipate establishing additional partnerships for the
AURA database in the future.
Both PPL and Cobra Electronics Europe Limited (CEEL), our
European sales arm for Cobra-branded products, are benefiting from
a substantial increase in our distributor base in Europe. In 2009,
we increased our number of distributors by 40% and we expect to
garner the benefits of this growth in 2010. Additionally, we are
finding opportunities to cross-sell our PPL and CEEL distributors,
providing further synergies from this acquisition.
In 2009, Cobra announced several initiatives that will sustain
and grow our leadership in the radar detection category. Early in
the year, Cobra introduced a line of products that addressed the
Jim Bazet
Chairman of the Board,
President & CEO
2 Cobra Electronics Corporation