GN ReSound is getting a charge from sales of its new rechargeable hearing aids. The latest financial report from GN Group says new premium products helped drive GN Hearing’s sales growth and market share gains in the fiscal 2018 third quarter.
The Big Six manufacturer said its premium ReSound LiNX 3D and new ReSound LiNX Quattro rechargeable hearing aids helped drive six-percent organic growth in GN Hearing’s sales over the third quarter of 2017. GN Group said the flagship products have addressed the company’s past “under-penetration” of the market of independent audiologists and practice groups:
GN Hearing continued to perform strongly in the independent market, in line with the target set out in the 2017–2019 strategy to address the relative under-penetration among independent customers. In North America, GN Hearing continued to take market share in the independent market with double digit organic revenue growth, driven by the combination of ReSound LiNX 3D and, to a limited extent, ReSound LiNX Quattro, which was first shipped on August 31.
The ReSound LiNX Quattro hearing aids feature a more powerful chip platform with a new generation of sound processing. They enable 100 percent faster processing, 100 percent additional memory, and a 35 percent increase in frequency bandwidth over the two-year-old ReSound LiNX 3D. The net result: “softer sounds are clearer and louder sounds are distortion-free.”
LiNX Quattro hearing aids also feature rechargeable batteries that enable 24 hours of use even when streaming 50 percent of the time. And they power 30 hours of use on a fully charged battery without streaming.
The company said it expects the new rechargeable hearing aids to improve its performance in the large Veterans Administration (VA) sales channel:
On November 1, with the introduction of ReSound LiNX Quattro, GN Hearing entered the rechargeable category in VA. In the first nine months of 2018, GN Hearing’s performance in the VA has been negatively impacted by not being present in the rechargeable category.
And GN is promising more product news will come, as it competes with other Big Six manufacturers to deliver the latest-and-greatest technologies in premium hearing aids:
On August 16, GN Hearing and Google announced a new technology partnership that will enable a full spectrum of direct audio streaming from Android devices to hearing aids. Based on the partnership, GN Hearing is expected to be the first manufacturer to take advantage of the new Android connection, which will be fully compatible with ReSound LiNX Quattro and Beltone Amaze.
Several years ago, GN was first to announce “Made for iPhone” hearing aids that enable wireless audio streaming from iPhones directly into its hearing aids. Since then, others followed with iPhone streaming hearing aids of their own. Now, its “made for Android” technology will help it compete with industry leader Sonova Group. In October Sonova announced a new technology platform that will enabling wireless binaural audio streaming to its Phonak hearing aids from any Bluetooth enabled device, including iPhone and Android phones.