Gizmodo field reporter Kenneth Armstrong recently had the opportunity to talk to Rishi Persaud, who is in charge of product development at iSkin, about the state of their business and how they are moving beyond the iPod. Far beyond. Like, record-label beyond.
Gizmodo: I was wondering if you could talk a little about how you’ve grown with the portable music player business? When you started it was really in its infancy and now your product line reflects the incredibly popular iPods, iPod minis and now iRiver portables.
iSkin: We jumped into a growing industry pertaining to the portable digital player market. We have shown tremendous growth and a lot of it has to do with our dedicated staff. It is great when you have a team that believes in the overall success of a brand and its effect on the customer.
Gizmodo: Did you see this market taking off like it did, or was it just a case of you were in the right place at the right time?
iSkin: Business is one part the right idea and another part luck. In this case (No Pun Intended) iSkin had incredible timing in bringing a product out along with the iPod. In essence we did fill a void by piggy-backing on the success of the Walkman’s replacement and now it is the battle to bring meaning to the iSkin brand.
Gizmodo: How did the worldwide roll out of the iPod mini affect your business? Did you see a big jump compared to when it was released US only?
iSkin: Even with the World Wide release of the iPod mini we have seen some growth but not so much. The reasons still go back to waiting times for back orders of the player, thus this question would be better answered in September or October based on greater market saturation. The total number of iPod minis on the streets are small in comparison to its larger cousin. The iPod mini has created diversity for our client base, this company is about individualism.
Gizmodo: Can you tell me about the upcoming iRiver cases [pictured]? Did iRiver contact you or did you take the initiative and develop the case on your own?
iSkin: We can speak about iRiver. We were contacted by representatives at iRiver but were already flirting with the possibility of skinning the iRiver. The iRiver was a natural move since it is the number 2 best selling hard drive based mp3 player in the world. Accessories helps to sell players and I am sure you will see even more companies supporting third part accessory manufacturers as time progresses. Simply stated it adds to margins for tech companies.
Gizmodo: Do you have any plans to make iSkins for other players such as the Creative Zen?
iSkin: We have a few products that we are presently looking at. Very soon you will an explosion of products from us that are skins and not skins. Also, you will begin to see iSkin products in places you might not expect. It is a matter of time but we believe that these skins gives consumers choice, customizabilty that is easy while keeping the general look of the original or host device.
Gizmodo: What’s next?
iSkin: iSkin is launching a record label which is a precursor to content and other things on the horizon. We have Teddy Riley contributing, DJ Red Alert and others. We are also working on developing some Bluetooth products, we believe that bluetooth will play a big part in the products of the future and iSkin wants to be there.
Read – iSkin Home Page [iSkin]
