Success in Western European Headphones Market Sennheiser expands its value-based market share to over 20 percent

Audio specialist Sennheiser has increased its value-based market share in the Western European headphones market by 2.6 percentage points to 20.9 percent, according to the market research group GfK. "This proves that Sennheiser has now established itself as a leading brand in the headphones sector," said Rolf Meyer, President Marketing and Sales at Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG. The GfK study examined the market for consumer electronics from May 2005 to June 2006 in the "group of six" European countries: Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy.

Overall, the sales value in the headphones market in the group of six countries grew by 16 percent over the same period. Set against this background, the increase in growth achieved by Sennheiser is even more impressive: Sennheiser not only went along with this development but even surpassed it by 5 percentage points with its products. "This fantastic result for Sennheiser headphones in the six leading European industrialized nations is clear evidence that customers attach great importance to branded products and quality," said Rolf Meyer. "In the wireless and mini headphones sectors in particular, the growth rates in all six countries are well above 3 percentage points. This proves that Sennheiser´s strategy of consolidating and expanding its product range in the consumer sector was absolutely correct."

Sennheiser was also able to increase its market share with other headphones. In Germany, the value-based share for infrared headphones rose by 4.6 percentage points to 84 percent. The market share for wireless headphones grew by 6.3 percentage points to 37.1 percent. In the UK, Sennheiser improved its market share in the mini headphones sector by 9.1 percentage points to 24 percent. In the Netherlands, the figure was even 13 percentage points higher, with Sennheiser now holding a 42.6 percent market share with its mini headphones.

As one of the world´s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems, the Sennheiser Group with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, had total sales of about €300 million in 2005. The export share is 82.5%. Sennheiser has a total workforce of more than 1,650 employees, of whom about 60% are employed in Germany. Sennheiser is active worldwide and, in addition to other partnerships, has its own sales subsidiaries in France, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, China, Singapore, Canada, Mexico and the USA.