Nuheara turns to Amazon in search of further IQbuds sales boost

Audio wearables company Nuheara (ASX: NUH) has widened its sales and distribution footprint by launching its IQbuds BOOST medical device on Amazon.com, currently the world’s most prominent online retailer of consumer goods and retail products.

IQbuds and IQbuds Boost serve as two flagship products Nuheara has developed to enter the audio wearables market and establish itself as a leading manufacturer – within both consumer electronics and hearing health market niches.

According to the deal, Nuheara’s next generation of hearing buds will be exclusively sold on the Amazon platform by Quantum Networks, with the company also agreeing to handle “one-on-one brand management and reporting”.

To maximise its sales potential, increase conversion and reach the optimal consumer market, Nuheara says Quantum Networks will use best practices to enrich the listing with high-resolution images, video and “enhanced brand content”.

Using Amazon’s in-house marketing services, Quantum Networks is expected to deploy targeted sponsored advertising campaigns custom tailored to the IQbuds BOOST vision.

“As the next generation of smart [hearables] are entering the market, advertising the IQbuds BOOST in the correct way is crucial to its success. By launching IQbuds BOOST exclusively on Amazon, we can use all of our expertise from the very start and accurately target the right consumers who will benefit the most from this cutting-edge product,” said Samantha Monzillo, brand manager at Quantum Networks.

Stocking its products in Amazon is therefore a significant milestone for Nuheara and will see its products showcased to millions of people globally.

The product is already being sold online at vendors such as Bluecoil and Nuheara’s own website with the current retail price set at US$499 in the US and A$649 in Australia.

Nuheara says that IQbuds BOOST are wireless hearing buds that enable users to “personalise” their hearing and “control to hear what you want to hear” in the world around you.

The device has been designed for a variety of potential users including autistic children, elderly people to help resolve existing problems and improve the quality of life for its users.

“Nuheara is pleased to be partnering with Quantum Networks to market IQbuds BOOST on the Amazon platform. Given the rapidly changing well-being product landscape and the consumerisation of hearing health, it’s important for IQbuds BOOST to be on Amazon,” said David Cannington, co-founder of Nuheara.

To stake its claim in the rapidly-evolving medical devices market, Nuheara launched two proprietary products (IQbuds and IQbuds Boost) in 2017, aimed at improving hearing and providing seamless device inter-connectivity for the benefit of the user.

Originally launched at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2017, Nuheara’s new type of hearing bud went on to win multiple innovation awards at both CES 2017 and IFA 2017. The products’ value-add comes from multi-functional technology that augments a person’s hearing and facilitates cable-free connection to smart devices such as phones and tablets.

Each year, CES typically showcases around 4,000 exhibiting companies, including manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content and “technology delivery systems”. The event attracts more than 300 conference sessions and more than 170,000 attendees from 150 countries.

By showcasing its products to a wide audience, Nuheara has gone on to achieve strong commercial results including widening its distributive reach and continuing to grow sales revenues from its leading products.

Market performance

In the past quarter, Nuheara has achieved a 32% uplift in receipts from customers and says its cash receipts reached A$1.33 million, a healthy 31% improvement from the previous quarter.

Overall, cash receipts from customers were just over $4 million in the past financial year – a significant 114% increase.

As part of its ongoing growth spurt, Nuheara raised A$6 million in June this year by issuing 63.2 million shares was at an issue price of 9.5 cents.

Nuheara says the capital injection will be used to increase sales and marketing activities of IQbuds and IQbuds BOOST, increase inventory levels – but possibly most important – fund the mass production and launch of LiveIQ, a product that’s expected for release in Q4 2018.

According to Nuheara, LiveIQ will be the “world’s first hybrid active noise cancellation hearing bud” that will deliver a new level of sophistication, intelligence, affordability and street appeal, to a much broader lifestyle-oriented audience.

LiveIQ will be Nuheara’s third distinctive product brand after the successful launches of IQbuds and IQbuds BOOST.

Casting a wearables net

In recent months, Nuheara has signed multiple agreements widening distribution of its products in Australia, New Zealand and further afield in Asia. The company has even courted the attention of state-funded programs with its devices now approved for Australia’s Hearing Services Program (HSP), a taxpayer-funded scheme offering support for Australian residents suffering from hearing loss.

In Australia, Nuheara’s retail expansion also includes the likes of Bloom Hearing Clinics who are currently trialling Nuheara’s IQbuds with a view of becoming the leading Australian supplier having established a significant UK presence in recent years.

Bloom is also considering expansion into Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand which by extension could further expand Nuheara’s addressable audience around the world.