The French drone manufacturer Parrot has published its earning report for the third quarter of 2018. The figures are sobering: In the third quarter of 2018, Parrot’s drone division generated sales of € 12.5 million, a decline of a good 45% compared to the previous year’s figure of € 22.6 million. Parrot attributes the massive slump in sales to “a growth crisis in the consumer drone market”.
The successful models from earlier years, Parrot Bebop and Disco, have reached the end of their product life cycle and do not feature the latest technology anymore. Its latest model, Parrot Anafi, launched in July 2018, appears to be selling well and has increased Parrot’s market share in consumer drones slightly, but has not been able to compensate for the slump in sales. Henri Seydoux, Parrot’s Chairman and CEO, said: “The end of this year is being complicated by a significant and unexpected contraction of the consumer drone market, which has occurred at the time of the launch of our new drone, the Parrot Anafi.
As a consequence of the poor sales figures, Parrot has announced the reduction of 100 jobs, mainly in international operations. The aim is to reduce the cost in the marketing and production structures and adapt them to current market capacity.
Want to know if the Parrot Anafi can beat its more expensive rival from DJI? Have a look at my latest review!