Whenever smart homes are talked about, Alphabet’s Nest brand manages to sneak its way into the conversation — mainly due to it’s moderately successful thermostat, and more recently, due to the new devices its been launching. Now, years after being acquired by Google for $3.2 billion ( the acquisition occurred in 2014), Nest Labs is selling thermostats, camera and smoke alarm products in four more countries in Europe — Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain.
Nest is focused on creating a home that takes care of the people inside it and the world around it.
said Matt Rogers, co-founder and chief product officer at Nest.
This expansion brings us closer to achieving our goal of helping people around the world save energy, stay safe, and feel secure in their homes.
Up until now, Nest’s hardware, software and services have been available in merely seven markets. However, they are already used by millions of people in more than 190 countries. The company is planning to capitalize upon what appears to be a very obvious interest.
Lionel Paillet, general manager of Europe for Nest said,
There’s clearly organic interest in the benefits our products offer, and with our expansion into Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain, we’re doubling our footprint in Europe and allowing our customers – including thousands of existing customers – to enjoy Nest products in their local languages.
Nest Learning Thermostats will retail for €249. The Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm will sell for €119. The Nest Cam Indoor will cost €199; and the Nest Cam Outdoor will sell for €199. All the prices mentioned above are inclusive of taxes. As you read this article, the pre-order has already begun with the company targeting delivery date by mid-February. Customers in Germany and Austria will have to wait a little longer for the Nest Learning Thermostat, though.
As is the case with most Nest product roll outs (the last one took place in the UK in September 2014), the company has brought on board a number of partners to supplement the local expansion. It will work with Media World and ePrice in Italy, Media Market and El Corte Inglés in Spain and Generali Group in Germany.
The global smart home thermostat market grew by 123% in 2015 itself, which sheds light on the fact that smart homes’ is already hitting the mainstream in developed countries. This was obviously why Google was all ‘gung-ho’ about it’s purchase of Nest Labs back in 2014, as it ensured it could complete with counterparts like Apple in the IoT space.
But all is not well at Nest. The company generated $340mn in sales in 2015, much below Google’s expectations. Despite increasing its workforce to a sizeable 1200 from 360 in the past few years and spending more than half a billion dollars, it hasn’t been able to come up with a path breaking product yet. It also courted controversy last year when there were reports of Google shunning the Nest division of Alphabet, claiming it wasn’t involved in development of the smart speaker Google Home.
