Last week, Los Angeles-based Cabeau made public – in spectacular style – a project it has been secretly working on for more than 18 months.
The neck cushion maker invited some of its top business partners from around the world, plus travel retail media, to a weekend-long event for the unveiling of a new product, Track & Shield.
The lavish launch celebration included an evening rooftop cocktail at the Erwin Hotel in Venice Beach where five aircraft sky-wrote messages up above the city skyline; a yacht trip from Marina del Rey during which the new product was officially launched; and an evening at the Magic Castle, the ornate Hollywood mansion housing a private club for magicians.
Resource-intensive development
As a build up to the launch – and underlining its faith in it – Cabeau has invested heavily in finding the right technology partner and in new staffing across its structure as it has geared up for a new, expanded business. Among the most senior hires have been Alex Vorissis as Chief Financial Officer and digital and brand marketer Susannah Kim as Vice President of Global Marketing.
In a statement, Cabeau said: “Track & Shield is the only device that provides real-time global tracking of anyone or anything. It gives you the incredible ability to send a text message virtually anywhere, and geo- and time-stamps every time it’s opened. Its applications are endless.”
First to use Narrowband technology
The device is unique, claims Cabeau, in using Narrowband (NB) technology which extends texting abilities 20 times further than a cell phone and is reliable in hard-to-connect areas such as mountains. It also uses significantly less battery energy. NB started its roll-out in the US in January and is currently available in 23 markets globally.
Some of the ‘endless applications’ Cabeau refers to extend well beyond the obvious travel uses such as luggage tagging. The company is expecting take-up for outdoor retail, pets, in the military, senior homes, schools, special needs advocacy, women’s safety advocacy, dementia and Alzheimer’s support groups, amusement parks and more.
The device has been priced at US$199.99 with a service fee of US$50 per year or US$6.99 per month to use all of Track & Shield’s functionality via an app on any Apple or Android smartphone. Pre-order shipments to Cabeau’s VIP customers including some travel retail partners will begin in the fourth quarter of 2019.
A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign will also launch in mid-April followed by one with Indiegogo – another crowdfunding platform – in June. From early 2020 orders to all customers will then be possible “on a first-come first-served basis”.
“Doing things that no-one else has”
Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report about this change of direction, CEO and Founder David Sternlight said: “I totally agree with you that this launch looks like a bit of a deviation. We have been focused on travel comfort in the past but I believe the company’s mission is travel innovation and travel solutions that are unique to the market where we can do things that no-one else has. From that perspective, Track & Shield fits with what we’re trying to do.
“I can completely see that Track & Shield will overtake our travel comfort sales just because it reaches so many industries. Effectively the market is anybody who is vulnerable… from seniors to women travelling alone, special needs, schools.
“My son is ten years old and already there are kids in his year who are getting cell phones. The main reason parents justify buying them is in case of emergencies. With this, they can be both safe and connected.
“The concept came about through my own experience of losing luggage and being told it will be there later tonight, only for it show up days later and with something missing. Track & Shield sends a time, date and place stamp every time the product is opened or tampered with. So somebody can be held accountable if something goes astray.”
Asked if the high price might come down if volumes go up, Sternlight said: “Hopefully so, but there is so much that goes into this product that it’s a real challenge to get the price much lower than we’ve set it.”
At the current price, the CEO confidently said that he was “expecting excellent demand”. The Kickstarter campaign will offer some transparency as to how consumers react, and what the take-up will be like. “We will hopefully be raising a lot of money,” he added.
