Windows 8 has the attention of the software world these days.
Don’t forget about soft goods—the cases that hold smart phones, or the bags that tote the PCs that will get a sales boost from Windows 8 if manufacturers’ and distributors’ hopes for hot sales come true (see related story, above).
The tech-related soft-goods markets saw a local shift last week, when Anaheim-based Targus Inc. struck a deal to acquire Sena Cases in Irvine.
Targus is one of the biggest makers of tech-related soft goods in the world, with more than $500 million in annual sales of laptop bags, backpacks and other accessories for consumer electronics.
Sena is just a fraction of that size, with about $20 million in sales. But it brings Targus inroads in the smart-phone market, a key partnership with Apple Inc., and a luxury brand of smart phone and tablet cases that are individually handcrafted out of calfskin from Italy, Turkey and South Korea.
“We’ve been around for 30 years supporting other digital devices like laptops and tablets,” said Al Giazzon, Targus’ vice president of marketing and communication. “Sena was a great fit in terms of adding that missing piece. Given that synergy—our strength in cases and tablets and theirs in smart phones—it was a really good fit for us.”
Financial terms of the deal, which closed last week, were not disclosed.
Orange County is home to a number of other tech-related accessories makers, including Incipio Technologies Inc. in Irvine, which also has been a fast grower and counts sales of more than $40 million a year.
Targus has grown organically for the most part. Its deal for Sena is its first buy since 2000, when it acquired Roundhouse Inc., a Rancho Dominguez-based supplier of CD and DVD-ROM carrying cases and storage systems.
HQs
Sena has outgrown its headquarters about every two years since it started in 1999. Its long standing as an Apple supplier was an attractive benefit for Targus, which has made cases for the Cupertino-based company’s popular iPad since its debut in 2010.
Apple stores and online sales now account for about half of Sena’s revenue.
Targus brings deep pockets and a global distribution network.
“We wanted to bring the company to the next level, and one option was to have a partnership or merger with a company that had a global infrastructure,” said founder Ramsey Oten. “We were not interested in selling the company and turning it something else.”
Sena will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary and maintain its brand identity.
“Sena is my daughter’s name, and we take good care of the brand,” said Oten, who launched the company as a family-run business after leaving a systems engineer position at Newport Beach-based chipmaker Conexant Systems Inc.
Targus has distribution points in 100 countries and 45 offices across the globe.
It employs about 500 companywide, with some 200 in Anaheim.
Its 70,000-square-foot headquarters includes a design center and a distribution operation that sends goods to large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Staples and Target.
The company also counts on distributors such as Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc., and other large and regional technology resellers that also handle accessories.
Its products are made in Asia.
Targus is taking a cautious approach on bringing Sena under its umbrella, especially on its business with Apple.
“We’re going to take a very careful approach at how we look at that so that the Apple customers have the same kind of experience at the point of sale,” Giazzon said.
Landing a partnership with then-Palm Inc. in 2005 made Sena a known player in the market.
The company leveraged its newfound success into deals with Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. in Texas.
Kors
Sena inked a deal to sell cases in Apple stores in 2007, shortly before the debut of the iPhone. The brand was later named Apple’s preferred leather case vendor. That was followed by deals to supply other luxury brands, including New York-based apparel maker Michael Kors USA Inc.
“This brings a level of sophistication under the Targus umbrella,” Giazzon said.
Most of Sena’s products are made in Turkey and distributed from Irvine, where it also operates a warehouse. It has deals with contractors in Turkey for European distribution and in Vietnam for Asian sales.
Sena employs about 40 people, including an in-house master artisan from Turkey with more than three decades of experience.
