Cobra 2004 Annual Report Download - page 8
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Please find page 8 of the 2004 Cobra annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.6 COB R A E L E C T R O N I C S C O R P O R ATION
ThestrengthoftheCobrabrandgavegreatfootingtothe
Company’s new line of marine power inverters and VHF
radios,whichwerelaunchedinlate2003.Effortstomaximize
distribution channels paid off as Cobra MARINE™
productspenetratedsportinggoodsandmarineretailoutlets
domestically. Mostnotable, however,was theexcellentsales
performanceofthemarineproductlineinEurope.Thestrong
pushtoexpanddistributionchannelsresultedinstrongsales
formarineproductsamongEurope’srecreationalboaters.
Renewedfocusonconsumer’swants/needs—
Thestoryofproductdevelopment
The evolution of Cobra from a hardware manufacturer to
technology innovator meant a drastic shift in Company
Left:GPSisnolonger‘the
future’;itisnow.Cobra’s
aggressiveentranceinto
theGPSmarketplacewith
itshandheldGPS1000DLX
putsanemergingtechnology
intothehandsofeveryday
consumers.Amappingand
routingdevicecontaining
RandMcNallymapsofthe
48contiguousstateswith
ASAPIItechnologyoffering
thefastestacquisitiontimes
available,Cobra’sGPS1000
DLXhaschangedtheway
peoplehike,bike,drive
andwalktobothnewand
favoritedestinations.
TopRight:Designinga
productthatreceived
criticalaccoladesand
consumerpraisealikewas
noaccident.Cobra’sNAV
ONE3000istheresultof
acollaborativeproduct
developmentprocess.From
thefirstproductconceptto
thedesignteam’svisionto
consumerfocusgroupsto
actualdeliveryofproduct
tomarket,theNAVONE
3000mobilenavigation
systemwascreatedwiththe
consumerinmind.
philosophy. The “Develop or Die” mentality in 2004
continues to be a mantra for the Company and a driving
forceintheproductdevelopmentprocess.Tobealeaderin
emergingtechnologies, acompanymustbewillingtolisten
closelyandrespondquickly–somethingCobraunderstands
andimplementsonadailybasis.
Thedesign ofanyCobraproductmeanscarefulresearch.
Fromexaminingtechnologytrendsandadvancestoevaluating
costofentrytomappingthecompetitivelandscape,Cobra’s
processhelpstheCompanydevelopproductlinesforthelong-
term.Andit’snotjustaboutaddingthelatesttechnologyto
anygivenproduct;it’saboutaskingthequestion,“Howdoes
thistechnologybenefittheconsumer?”
Anotherkeycomponentoftheprocessisthecommunication
withandfeedbackfromCobra’sretailcustomers.Startingwith
focusgroupsattheinitialstagesofaproduct’sdevelopment,