Demand from the yachting market
Navicom has been present in the marine electronics sector for many years, both with its own-brand VHFs and through distribution via Humminbird, and has noted a change in customer demand and market structure. With this in mind, the Breton distributor has decided to offer a new complementary product range with a new brand, Nova, as Sales Director Xavier Dhennin explains: "Today, competition has increased sharply, with players who have a real nautical connotation. The demand from powerboaters is for beautiful flush-mounted devices, with attractive integration for boats that are beautiful toys. Boaters want all-touch screens, and real ease of use. These are arguments that are less those of Humminbird, and to which we respond with Nova."
A brand that everyone can understand
After working closely with Next Four, a Finnish company developing screens that meet this need under the Q brand, Navicom decided to create its own brand to distribute them on the French market. This decision is the fruit of several arguments, explains the sales manager: "We didn't want any ambiguity vis-à-vis our partner Humminbird, and for the new screens not to be perceived as a new model in their range. We also didn't want to call it Navicom and have people think that the factory is in Quimper. So we worked on a name that would be easy to remember and close to the Navicom name, which led us to Nova by Navicom. Launching a new brand is a very big challenge, especially in the current economic climate. We're a 25-strong SME rubbing shoulders with big groups, but our strength is the trust of our customers, who know that we're people who sail and are confident about our products."
High-end products tailored to the market
In partnership with NextFour, Navicom has integrated new functionalities into its Nova displays, such as a new Airmar traversing probe for sounding, radar settings and numerous functionalities on the Nova link mobile application. Targeting importers, national manufacturers, dealers and stores, Nova is positioned in a qualitative niche, as Xavier Dhennin concludes: "Technologically, Nova is at the top end of the market, in terms of processor and panel quality. So it's at the top of the range of competitors that you have to compare prices. We only start at 10 inches, where we're on comparable levels to the others, and on 12 inches and 16 inches, we're cheaper, with a widening price difference."
