Jabra is shutting down two of its popular product lines, here's what top executive said

Jabra parent GN Audio has announced its decision to “gradually wind down its Elite and Talk product lines”. In a blog post, the Danish brand confirmed that this move will help it “to further increase focus and resources on more attractive parts of GN’s business.” At its Capital Market Day in May, GN announced that it is “striving to build leading businesses in attractive markets and by this grow with healthy margins and ensure good returns on the invested capital.”

CEO of GN Store Nord, the parent company of Jabra, Peter Karlstromer, said: “The decision to gradually wind down the Elite and Talk product lines is part of our commitment to focus on attractive markets where we can deliver profitable growth and strong returns.
We have demonstrated that we can compete in even the most challenging categories with our leading technology and go-to-market strengths. We did this with our Elite line by delivering multiple worlds-first innovations for consumers, especially in true wireless earbuds, driving global market share gains. The markets, though, have changed over time, and it is today our assessment that we cannot generate a fair return on investment compared to the many other opportunities we have within our Hearing, Enterprise, and Gaming businesses.
I am very grateful to our retail partners, who have supported us on the Elite and Talk product lines, as well as to the consumers who made us a part of their lives. We remain committed to working closely together to make this a successful wind down, including continuing with the launch of our final Elite products - the second generation of the highly acclaimed Elite 8 Active and Elite 10 - which are the best earbuds we ever made.”

In 2023, the company started shifting its Elite product line towards the premium segment which has also led to increased profitability. However, GN claimed that the investment needed for innovation and growth in this highly competitive market is considered unsustainable in the long term due to associated risks.

Similarly, the Talk product line also faces challenges in the declining mono Bluetooth market. As a result, after a comprehensive business review, the company decided to gradually phase out both the Elite and Talk product lines.
In 2023, GN’s consumer business achieved revenue of DKK 1,253 million (nearly $180.5 million). Nearly 70% of the revenue was generated from the Elite product line, while 10% came from the Talk product line, and 20% from the BlueParrott product line (DKK 269 million in 2023).
Starting in 2025, the BlueParrott product line will be moved to the Enterprise division. The company said that this move will help it with financial reporting purposes to capitalise on growth opportunities in the front-line worker market.
GN has also announced that it will reduce the inventory of the affected products, with most reductions expected to be completed by the end of 2024. However, the company will continue to service and support customers in the coming years.
The company also recently launched two new editions of the Elite 8 Active and Elite 10 premium earbuds. The Elite 8 Active Gen 2 and Elite 10 Gen 2 will be the final products in this line which will be available starting later this month.