GoPro announced it’s exiting the “extremely competitive” drone market in the company’s most recent earnings report.
GoPro only brought one drone to market, the $800 Karma, which launched in September 2016 and was recalled in November of that same year after some drones lost power during operation and fell from the sky.
The company eventually got its drone back on the market and even, in its own words, “reached the #2 market position in its price band in 2017,” but ultimately it wasn’t enough to make keeping the line worth it for GoPro.
“The product faces margin challenges in an extremely competitive aerial market,” wrote GoPro in its report, in explanation of its exit. The drone faced steep competition from competitors like DJI.
GoPro also noted that new regulations in Europe and the U.S. would “reduce the total addressable market,” in coming years.
“These factors make the aerial market untenable and GoPro will exit the market after selling its remaining Karma inventory,” said the company. “GoPro will continue to provide service and support to Karma customers.”
The struggling company is also in the midst of laying off staff and reducing the salary of CEO Nicholas Woodman to $1. The workforce of the company, which currently stands at 1,254 will reduce to under 1,000.
GoPro said revenue for the fourth quarter of 2017 would be approximately $340 million, significantly less than 2016.
Still, Woodman has hope for the future. He says GoPro is “committed to turning our business around in the future.”
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