20 years of Segway survival

 

Segway:

Do you know Segway? This is a narrative on 20 years of Segway survival.

They were introduced in 2001, they are often seen in amusement parks and shopping malls.

When the electric scooter was unveiled 18 years ago, it was praised by venture capitalists such as John Doerr, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos, saying, "This is a bigger invention than the Internet."

 

[caption id="attachment_4884" align="aligncenter" width="400"] A Segway tour[/caption]

 

This company is famous for being too ahead of its time as a 'unlucky company'.

In 2009, Time magazine named it one of the 10 most failed technologies of the past decade.

The organization was also unstable, with owners changing three times.

Since it was acquired by Ninebot of China in 2015, it is reaching its heyday in 18 years in line with the growth of the micro-mobility market.

In addition to electric scooters, we are also developing electric skates and autonomous delivery robots.

"Dean Kamen" inventor of Segway:

Overcoming the limitations of the past when prices were 'excessive', we are strengthening our popularity and diversifying our portfolio.

We looked at how Segway, which was thought to be doomed, has continued its legacy for 20 years despite ups and downs.

[caption id="attachment_4885" align="alignleft" width="300"] Dean Kamen[/caption]

A Modern Version of the Thomas Edison Segway Looking into the Future of Mobility. The Segway was founded in 1999 by inventor Dean Kamen, known as the 'modern Thomas Edison'.

He wears denim jeans and jeans like a school uniform, and 'blue and green fashion' is his trademark.

He was a rich inventor with considerable patented technology. Currently, over 1000 patents have been registered under this person's name.

His representative works are portable drug infusion pumps, portable kidney dialysis machines, vascular stents, and electric wheelchair ibots.

In particular, the ibot is famous for its wheelchairs that go up and down stairs.

Kames develops a Segway using self-balancing technology that balances itself in this product.

Purpose of Segway:

The purpose was to create a small and safe means of transportation that can be conveniently used in cities with severe traffic congestion.

On December 3, 2001, the product was first unveiled to the public on ABC's 'Good Morning America' program.

'Segways will replace cars,' said Kamen, confident he was. IT industry giants also overestimated the product.

According to Adam Grant's book "Originals," Steve Jobs didn't want to get off the machine when he first got on the Segway.

He offers Kamen $63 million for a 10% stake in the company. This man who never gives up.

Even though he was rejected, he did not back down and offered free advice for 6 months.

“I must be involved in the production of the Segway because it is a product that is as original as a PC and will capture the hearts of people.”

"If a lot of people see this machine, there's no need to convince them to ride it around town."
"People are smart and (this product) succeeds.

A fresh start, but a weak end for Segway?:

Jeff Bezos was the first to sell the Segway on Amazon.com among retail channels in 2002.

The Segway is a revolutionary product, and there is no problem with sales.

Venture capitalist John Doerr is investing $800 million in Segway, saying, "We will be the company with a market capitalization of $1 billion in the shortest amount of time."

Great beginning, but weak end?

It fascinated the innovators of its time and started with the blessings of many, but the reaction was disastrous.

Kamen expected to sell 10,000 units a week within a year, but sold only 30,000 units in 6 years.

In 2013, John Doerr admitted his Segway investment was a failure.

The reasons for the sluggishness examined based on the originals and interviews with early members of Segway conducted by CNN are as follows.

Failure of the security-first strategy… Neglect of checking user reactions:

Kamen feared theft of ideas and early product launches.

They were concerned that competitors might enter the market.

At the time, there was also suspicion that a Japanese automobile company was making a similar product.
The product was sealed with tape and hidden in a plywood box.

Company employees were also restricted from entering the Segway development area.

Very few potential investors were able to ride the Segway.

I had to drive and check in the city center as well as in the in-house test area, but this attempt was blocked.

Because everything is operated in secret, it is not possible to secure sufficient user response during the product design stage.

It was difficult to understand from the start what users wanted from the product.

The price of the product above $3,000 doesn't seem to have anything to do with the closing strategy.

 

Limited product options:

 

It is pointed out that the focus on the initial model, the Segway PT, is also a patchwork.

Segways are suitable for electric bicycles, four-wheeled wheelchairs, skateboards, unicycles, etc.

He said he made various prototypes. The company doesn't have enough money to commercialize it. The price of the Segway PT is high.

They once tried to lower the price to $1,000, but the price of the nickel-metal hybrid battery made it impossible to cut the price.

Segway spent $100 million on product development. The fact that it is made in New Hampshire, USA also made it more difficult to cut the price.

 

If we had diversified our product portfolio earlier and planned and sold them at low prices, we might have grown earlier.

Social sentiment and infrastructure limitations:

Eighteen years ago, in the early millennium, there was an emotional resistance to accepting electric scooters. Some people say that riding a Segway on the sidewalk is inconvenient.

The company sold a huge discount to 100 people in Florida to see how people rode the product, but most stopped riding within a year.

They say that the reason is that society does not accept Segway electric scooters. Each region has its own regulations.

From the point of view of the consumer, it is said that buying one product was a headache.

After purchasing the product, you need to visit the training center to receive lessons. There was nowhere to ride. There were also concerns about product safety.

It is common to find humiliating photos of celebrities falling on Segways.

 

In 2009, Segway was acquired by British billionaire James Heselden. The following year, he died from a cliff while riding a Segway, raising concerns about safety.

The company was acquired by Summit Strategic Investment Company in 2013, and was acquired by Ninebot, which was having a patent dispute in April 2015, by 'surprise'.

 

 

When it was acquired by Ninebot in 2015, there was a pitiful view of Segway.
A place that once fascinated Jobs and Bezos and had huge business prospects was acquired by its own counterfeit company!

At the beginning of the business, it took 6 years to sell 30,000 units and 10 years to sell 100,000 units.

It is estimated that the number of units sold since the acquisition of Ninebot reached 600,000 units in 2017 and 1 million units last year.

 

The number of units sold last year is higher than the total number of Segway PTs sold over the past 17 years.

Changes in the market environment and product changes were the main factors driving the rapid growth.

Expansion of the micro mobility market:

The demand for products has increased as the micro-mobility market, which is a personal means of transportation using eco-friendly power, has grown rapidly.

According to market research firm Grand View Research, the size of the US electric scooter market in 2017 was $16.3 billion. It is projected to grow to $41.9 billion by 2030.

It is convenient to use an electric scooter to access places that are difficult to enter by car.

As the concept of sharing instead of ownership is spreading, the demand for sharing electric scooters is increasing.

Electric scooter-sharing startups such as Lime, Bird and Spin are also on the rise.

Segway sells products on a B2C basis, but supplies products to these companies on a B2B basis.

They also sign contracts with retailers, hotel operators, and delivery service providers.

Relief of price barriers:

After Ninebot took over, we were able to lower the price of the product to less than $1,000.

Professional products range from $5,000 to $6,000, but entry-level products have increased a lot.

We were able to introduce products that fit the public eye level. Now it is made in a factory in China.

The local Changzhou plant alone makes 5,000 scooters a day.

Looking beyond the electric scooter: The autonomous robot Segway commercializes several models that have not been implemented due to lack of money in the past since the acquisition of Ninebot.

We plan mobility means to target niche markets.

Since last year, we have been developing self-driving robots. That is the robot 'Lumo' unveiled at CES that year.

You can follow people directly, and people can climb on them. This year, we are launching an autonomous delivery robot specialized for CES ship offices and shopping malls.

It can detect obstacles and deliver mail accurately to the recipient's room.

It is a strategy to target the Lumoro delivery market in the future.

 

Intensifying market competition, overcoming the U.S.-China trade war is a task A new owner with a strong will to expand the business has met, but the situation surrounding Segway is not easy.

Electric scooter sharing service to diversify suppliers:

Top electric scooter sharing services such as Bird and Lime have been mainly supplied with Segway products.

[caption id="attachment_4900" align="alignright" width="333"] Bird and lime electric scooters[/caption]

Now, we are diversifying our suppliers with okai, etc. It is to secure a product that does not nod even in damage and inclement weather.

Last year, there was a product recall issue with Lime.

Lime and Spin prepare to develop their own electric scooters for their services.

It is said that the share of scooter sharing companies in Segway's total sales is one-fifth.

We cannot but be optimistic that our position in the growing market is shrinking.

Looking at the popularity of electric scooters and the direction of the mobility market these days, I am amazed at the insight of Carmen 20 years ago.

 

Dean Kamen Father of Segway:

The Segway business idea cannot be considered wrong.

It is also a demand of the times. Commercialization efforts were slow, but it took time. Perhaps the trial and error experienced 20 years ago became the driving force for commercialization.

How does Kamen see today's scooter boom? According to a CNN interview, I feel that my vision for the transportation of the future is confirmed.

I don't put much importance on it as a personal achievement. I treat it as a 'footnote' of my career.

I think patents for medical technology such as portable insulin pumps and portable dialysis machines are more important than Segway.

Even today, it continues to issue patents in the medical field, such as robotic arms.

However, in the face of a mobility upheaval, it seems inevitable that he will receive more attention as the 'father of Segway' rather than the king of invention.