Fountain Valley-based D-Link Systems Inc. has strengthened its position in the booming connected-home market in a deal with the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The Bentonville, Ark.-based company will carry three of D-Link’s new line of Wi-Fi cameras at more than 1,000 U.S. locations.
The models, which debuted in January at the International CES event in Las Vegas, cost between $80 and $170 and are primarily used in home and business surveillance.
“This agreement with Walmart is significant as it shows the need for, and growing mass adoption of, home monitoring technology by consumers,” Daniel Kelley, vice president of marketing, said in an email. “More and more consumers are looking for easy DIY home security solutions from retail stores.”
D-Link is the North American unit of Taiwan-based D-Link Corp., which generates about $1 billion in annual sales. The parent company doesn’t break down revenue for its regional operations.
The latest deal extends D-Link’s ties with Wal-Mart—which has sold its media players and Wi-Fi routers in the past—and builds on the company’s recent push to boost market share by offering a bevy of connected home devices, such as Wi-Fi smart sensors and smart plugs, through partnerships with big retail distributors like Office Depot, Office Max, Fry’s Electronics and Best Buy, as well as online giants Amazon.com and NewEgg.com.
Last year it rolled out its first national TV campaign.
Newton, Mass.-based Strategy Analytics Inc. forecasted that smart-home system sales and services hit $18 billion in the U.S. last year and could more than double to $39 billion by 2019. Industry experts say connected home products account for about a fourth of the booming Internet of Things market, essentially components and equipment that allow consumers and machines to communicate with devices and systems remotely, typically through an app or Web browser.
Morgan Stanley estimates that about 75 billion products, such as washing machines, lighting systems and body health sensors, will be connected to the Internet by 2020.
D-Link has made steady gains in the IP camera segment since introducing its first model in 2002.
An aggressive marketing and pricing strategy for the past five years has paid off as Wi-Fi became ubiquitous. The company was the consumer market share leader in the U.S. last year, holding a nearly 40% share, according to Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD Group Inc.
It still generates about 40% of its annual revenue, though, from the business-to-business segment.
D-Link employs about 200 at its 120,000-square-foot building in Fountain Valley, primarily in corporate functions, such as marketing, sales, and accounting, although the site handles warehousing, distribution and some engineering for the U.S. market.
The company employs more than 3,000 in 127 offices around the world.
