In the post-BlackBerry boom, one Canadian company is reaping the spoils of the consumer electronics war.
Handheld accessories retailers have long been tagalongs in the fight, offering MP3 player and cellphone-related accessories so owners can personalize their new wireless toys. Until this point, however, most of them have been of the kitshy mall-kiosk variety, offering plain phone covers and skins of questionable quality.
The companies have thrived due to the fascinating human desire to fit in and stick out-everyone wants the latest incarnation of the iPhone or BlackBerry, but no one wants to carry around the same plain black device as everyone else.
With the explosion of laptops and wireless devices, though, consumers are becoming a little more discerning. They want a quality design to make their device to stand out, and they’re willing to pay a third party company to do so.
No better example of this is MyTego a three-year old Winnipeg-based company. MyTego creates original skin designs for cellphones, laptops, mobile devices and even gaming systems. What makes the company different from other “skin” retailers is customers themselves get to design the look of their skin. They simply got to the MyTego website, customize their look from a series of designs and colours, and have the skin shipped to their home once the purchase is complete.
It’s obviously an idea that flies with consumers, as MyTego just landed a spot on Profit Magazine’s Hot 50-the magazine’s annual ranking of Canadian emerging growth companies.
While Apple, RIM and their competitors battle it out for consumer dollars, we’ll be seeing more etailers like MyTego going along for the ride. I’m sure these startups are more than happy to let the best corporation win. Just as long as people keep craving a unique look for their BlackBerry Pearls, they’re more than happy to fulfil the public’s customizing dreams.
