GN strategy 2020 and beyond

GN's strategy for 2020 and beyond defines the Group's direction for taking individualized customer experience to a whole new level, and:

further broaden the reach and appeal of GN's hearing, audio, video, and gaming product portfolios, where management sees ample future opportunities for growth, and
as new market segments open, leverage GN's technological expertise and commercial platform, where these provide a particular competitive advantage

Current strategic focus areas in the hearing space

Modernize hearing care by building new ways of connecting hearing care professionals, consumers, and partners
Digitize, simplify, and automate the supply chain
Simplify the way we work and reduce complexity
Accelerate through M&A and partnerships

Current strategic focus areas in audio, collaboration, and gaming

Transform from an audio-only business to an audio, video, and gaming business
Prioritize resources in Office, Collaboration, and Gaming – taking share in Consumer and Contact Center
Broaden scope of the Office business unit beyond office headsets
Accelerate through M&A and drive simpler ways of working

Integrated sustainability strategy with ambitious goals
GN's sustainability strategy is integrated into the business strategy to create real and lasting value. We continuously work on all material environmental, social, and governance topics. In the areas of climate, products and packaging, and health, our sustainability goals for 2025 provide a clear and ambitious direction.

Strategy execution 2023
GN continues to execute on its current strategy built on 150 years of technology-driven enhancement of vital human senses with the underlying philosophy of bringing people closer. This entails further realization of the synergies that can be derived from a one-company mindset with hearing, audio, and gaming technologies, competencies, channels, and support functions in one efficient and lean organization. The operational initiatives to drive further synergies are currently centered around 4 main levers:

1. Innovation and technology
Further utilizing the ability to share deep and complex technology between GN’s diversified R&D organizations as technologies are expected to continue to converge. The emerging over-the-counter hearing aid market is just one example, where GN is benefitting from both audio and hearing technologies to develop Jabra Enhance Plus. As AI and other critical technologies continue to converge, GN’s broad range of R&D expertise and combined scale will gain increasing importance as a competitive advantage.

2. Go-to-market
Further utilizing benefits of shared go-to-market models and channel overlap. Most recently, SteelSeries’ and Jabra’s Retail Sales & Marketing organizations were merged into one team to leverage the combined scale and increase relevance and strategic importance with key retailers and distributors. This part of the integration was initiated in Q4 2022 and is being completed in early 2023.

3. Operations and supply chain
Further utilizing efficiencies and driving down product related costs as a result of one shared operations and supply chain organization. In April 2023, GN Hearing’s and GN Audio’s two Global Operations organizations were merged into one team to further leverage both structural and operational synergies within sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution. The scale and magnitude of products handled by this single organization will be significantly larger than the volumes of the entire hearing aid industry.

4. Back-office, support services, and new ERP
Further utilizing know-how and company scale across GN's operating assets to drive synergies across back-office functions including shared IT, HR etc. Currently, a first phase of a new cloud-based ERP system has gone live as a common system to ultimately encompass audio, hearing, SteelSeries and group functions.

GN has focused on driving company-wide synergies in recent years, and believe that the development in converging technologies and the changes in market trends warrant a significant potential for harvesting further synergies and advantages with GN’s business model. The Board and Management are confident in GN’s strategy, our markets, and our ability to execute and continue to gain market share which we believe will create significant value for shareholders in the coming years.

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