Ucube International Inc (Ucube,
The toy, designed by Ugobe, made its debut two years ago, but following lengthy development only went on sale in the US market recently for US$349, Ucube deputy marketing manager Lilith Yang (
Taiwan is the first Asian market to offer the toy, known as Pleo, which will sell for NT$12,299 until Feb. 1, after which it will retail at NT$13,500, she said.
Ugobe is partly owned by Softbank Taiwan Venture Capital (微銀創投), Maxima Capital Management (麥實創投) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), with Softbank investing US$1.5 million two years ago, followed by US$2.5 million from Maxima at the end of 2006.
Hon Hai, the largest shareholder, owns 30 percent to 40 percent, Maxima vice president David Tai (
"Currently the Pleo is made by Jetta, a Hong Kong-based company, and Hon Hai. The profit margin for this product is in the double digits.
Ugobe will release one or two new robotic pets near the end of this year," he said.
Ugobe engineer Caleb Chung (
The toy is an interactive toy pet that stresses emotional and learning functions. Its software can be upgraded to teach it new tricks, Yang said.
"The Pleo comes with a nickel hydride rechargeable battery, but for the Taiwanese market Ucube developed a lithium battery that is more durable ... and customers who order now will receive it for free," said Lobo Chang (張立群), product manager at Ucube.
About 300,000 units of the Pleo are expected to be sold on the Asian market this year, said Joe Ye (葉舟), a partner at Softbank Taiwan Venture Capital.
An analysis released yesterday by the Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所) showed that relative to traditional and electronic toys, the market for robotic pets has experienced the fastest growth, with an estimated 18.3 percent this year to US$8.4 billion.
This trend is expected to continue into next year and 2010, growing at 25 percent and 22.9 percent respectively, with market size increasing to an estimated US$12.9 billion, TRI said.
Taiwan-based companies manufacture approximately 90 percent of integrated circuits and sensors for low to medium-priced toys worldwide, with sales of US$250 million to US$400 million annually, in addition to US$600 million from other components and traditional toys, TRI analysis showed.
"Taiwan's competitiveness in the robotic pet market is in manufacturing of memory, SD cards, Wi-Fi, sensors, motor components, as well as its experience in the toy industry," said Kelia Ho (何耀庭), a consumer electronics researcher at TRI.
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