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<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/logi-stock"></a><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/logi-stock">Logitech</a> stock traded down on Friday despite a strong <keyword id="517674" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="earnings-report">earnings report</keyword> with 85% sales growth.</li><li>The company boasted a 192% increase in EPS and raised its 2021 annual outlook.</li><li><keyword id="157798" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Logitech">Logitech</keyword> stock underperformed on Friday despite the news, dropping 1% to around $104 per share.</li></ul><ul class="summary-list"></ul><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/logi-stock">Logitech</a> stock traded down on Friday despite a strong earnings report for the holiday quarter.The Swiss-American manufacturer of computer peripherals and software <a href="https://ir.logitech.com/financial-info/sec-filings/default.aspx">revealed 85% sales growth</a> in the quarter, beating analysts' estimates by over $400 million.Additionally, cash flow from operations was up to $530 million versus $181 million from a year ago. And EPS grew an incredible 192% year-over-year to $2.45.Logitech also raised its 2021 annual outlooks. The company now sees its annual sales growth of 57%-60%, up from 35%-40%.Logitech also believes it will break the $1 billion mark in non-GAAP operating income for the first time in 2021, notching a $300 million increase over previous estimates.Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-picks-to-buy-below-pre-pandemic-levels-goldman-sachs-2021-1?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest">GOLDMAN SACHS: These 22 stocks still haven't recovered to pre-pandemic levels - and are set to explode amid higher earnings in 2021 as the economy recovers</a>."This quarter's record results demonstrate the strength of our portfolio, addressing long-term growth trends in remote work and education, video collaboration, esports, and digital content creation," said <keyword id="1086604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bracken-Darrell">Bracken Darrell</keyword>, Logitech president, and chief executive officer.Despite the upbeat report, shares fell by about 1% on the day to around $104 per share.The latest results end a strong run for the company in 2020, rising some 51% as it took advantage of increased demand for webcams and microphones as remote work became the norm.Now some investors fear that growth may fizzle as people return to the office.Darrell <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Aw-DVdHytA">spoke to Yahoo Finance</a> about the company's prospects going forward, arguing the recent rise in sales isn't just a "pandemic boost." Darrell said the company expects to benefit from a world of "hybrid work" as people balance working from home and time in the office.Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-investing-winklevoss-gemini-bitcoin-stable-coins-regulation-ethereum-fincen-2021-1?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest">We spoke to Winklevoss-backed crypto platform Gemini about bitcoin, how to use stable coins, and why regulation won't kill the boom in digital currencies</a>.Darrell was also asked about supply issues after strong demand led to problems in 2020. The CEO said the company had been making great strides in that area but was "still constrained in a few categories," including webcams and microphones.Logitech currently holds a market cap of $17.6 billion and boasts seven "buy" ratings, two "neutral" ratings, and zero "sell ratings from analysts.

Logitech fizzles despite revealing 85% sales growth in latest earnings

Swiss technology firm Logitech has laid off 300 employees amid the challenging global macro-economic environment, the media reported on Thursday. In a major global reorganisation, the maker of computer accessories has decided to cut about 300 jobs, reports People Matters. According to Logitech President and CEO Bracken Darrell, the slump in the business was due to challenging global broader macroeconomic environment and "lower enterprise and consumer spending". Logitech had 8,200 employees as of March 2022. The company has also cut its outlook for the year. "Regrettably, a number of our employees were affecteda by the changes, a company spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report. Logitech's revenue nosedived to $1.3 billion in its fiscal 2023 third quarter, 22 per cent down from a year earlier. "This performance reflects the challenging macroeconomic environment. Category sales declined in both US dollars and constant currency," the company said in January this year. Compared to Q3 of the prior year, Gaming sales declined 16 per cent and video collaboration sales declined 21 per cent. Keyboards and Combos sales declined 22 per cent and pointing devices sales declined 14 per cent. "This reflects consumer purchasing concentrated in promotional weeks throughout the quarter, and lower enterprise and consumer spending," said the company. "These quarterly results reflect the current challenging macroeconomic conditions, including currency exchange rates and inflation, as well as lower enterprise and consumer spending," said Darrell. Logitech's Fiscal Year 2023 outlook has been adjusted to between negative 13-15 per cent negative sales growth in constant currency. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/global-surfaces-lists-at-over-17-premium-beats-grey-market-expectations/articleshow/98931023.cms">Global Surfaces lists at over 17% premium, beats grey market expectations</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/meet-rekha-rakesh-jhunjhunwala-the-top-indian-entrant-in-2023-m3m-hurun-global-rich-list/slidelist/98916777.cms">Meet Rekha Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the top Indian entrant in 2023 M3M Hurun Global Rich List</a>

Logitech lays off 300 employees as computer accessories sales drop

<ul><li><keyword id="157798" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Logitech">Logitech</keyword> continues to see strong demand for its computer accessories like webcams and keyboards as the work-from-home trend is set to extend into next year.</li><li>Logitech reported second quarter <keyword id="6357061" type="SPONSORED" weightage="60" keywordseo="earnings">earnings</keyword> that beat analyst estimates and raised its full-year outlook.</li><li>"The growth trends that drive our business have accelerated as society adjusts to its new reality," Logitech CEO Bracken Darrell said.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Demand for keyboards, webcams, and mouses continues to be strong as the work-from-home is set to continue into next year and could transform into a hybrid working culture, based off of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/logi-stock">Logitech's</a> second quarter <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201019005886/en/Logitech%E2%80%99s-Q2-Sales-Grow-75-Operating-Income-Up-Over-300">earnings report.</a>The computer accessories company posted strong growth in the second quarter, which beat analyst estimates, and raised its full year outlook.Shares of Logitech surged as much as 19% in Tuesday trades.Here are the key Q2 numbers:Revenue: $1.26 billion, versus the $846 million estimate Adjusted EPS: $1.87, versus the 58 cents estimate FY 2021 outlook: Sales growth of 35% to 40%, versus its previous estimate of 10% to 13%Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-outlook-crowded-trades-overweight-underweight-stocks-ubs-asset-managers-2020-10?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">These are the 10 most crowded trades among global money managers, UBS says. The biggest underweight stocks might surprise you</a>This marked the first quarter in Logitech's history in which revenue surpassed the $1 billion mark. Revenue grew 75% year-over-year in the quarter.'The growth trends that drive our business have accelerated as society adjusts to its new reality," Logitech CEO Bracken Darrell said.Darrell added that conversations with organizational leaders suggest a hybrid work culture will emerge as the new norm following the COVID-19 pandemic.A hybrid work culture entails employees working both in the physical office and from home based on certain days and weeks.Aside from the work-from-home trends, demand for Logitech's products have also benefited from a surge in gaming, as the "spectator and participant sport continues with no end in sight," Darrell said.<div type="image" title="logitech stock.JPG" height="701" width="837" msid="78771103" hostid="261"></div>

Logitech soars 19% after earnings beat and raised outlook driven by work-from-home trends

<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whats-next-ceos-tell-insider-how-they-are-approaching-the-return-to-the-office-2021-04"></a><div type="image" title="Bracken Darrell, President and CEO of Logitech" height="512" width="1024" msid="83062930" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="157798" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Logitech">Logitech</keyword>'s tools and accessories played a major role in the global shift to <keyword id="1591611" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="remote-work">remote work</keyword> last year.</li><li>Bracken Darrell, president and CEO of Logitech, told Insider about the process of moving and supporting employees during the transition.</li><li>Darrell also shared why he feels it's important to address racism and bias, and climate change moving forward.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.logitech.com%2Fen-us">Logitech</a> is one of the largest consumer electronics companies and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/logitech-ceo-bracken-darrell-revitalized-company-12-billion-remote-work-2020-9">saw huge success in 2020</a> with the increased demand for computer tools and accessories to help with the global shift to remote work.Before joining Logitech in 2012 as president of the company, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.logitech.com%2Fen-us%2Fabout%2Fleadership%2Fbracken-darrell.html">Darrell</a> led Whirlpool, Procter &amp; Gamble, and General Electric. He added CEO of Logitech to his title in January 2013.Darrell spoke to Insider about how he ushered Logitech into remote work in 2020 and the company's return-to-the-office plans for the coming months as the number of administered COVID-19 vaccinations increases. He also spoke on his initiatives around <keyword id="49089" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sustainability">sustainability</keyword> and diversity, equity, and inclusion.This <keyword id="28970" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="interview">interview</keyword> is lightly edited for clarity and brevity.Insider: How did you and your teams handle office closures at the beginning of the pandemic? And what types of support were offered to employees to help the transition to working from home? Darrell: I'd say in the first stage, like everybody else, we tried to give people enough space where we pulled back a lot on the workload because we just didn't know what was going to happen. We really tried to reduce the workload, and we thought 'There's going to be a big learning curve.' The second thing we started to do was, and this was more informal and probably happened over time, we tried to make fun and laugh about the surprises that happened on video. I have a 19-year-old cat and he began to appear regularly on video. And people's kids were on video-we just tried to make light of that. Then we realized, as time went on, people didn't really have the equipment they needed. So we created a program where... you could go out and buy or order whatever you needed. I think it was $500 and we raised it [over time]. And then we started to see the mental health thing really kick in and people were just stressed. They were stressed and feeling overworked because they were working longer hours. So, we started doing no meetings on Fridays. And then we added one day a month where we gave everybody the day off and we've done that ever since. We call them "Logi-Mondays." We just keep adding stuff that we think makes sense. We have one big advantage which is it's been really rewarding for people that work here because our products played such an important role during the pandemic for students and educators, patients and doctors.Insider: Are you planning on going back to the office anytime soon? Darrell: I think we'll reopen. If I go around the world, we have offices that are already open and have never closed even. But in terms of most of our offices in the US and Europe, we will start to open up in July and then slowly, I'll be in there too. We'll open up like everybody else will, I think we'll probably have two or three days a week in the office and two or three days a week working remotely, and then we'll see.Insider: Is this something Logitech is planning on doing permanently? Allowing employees to build their own schedules of in-office work and at-home work? Darrell: I was reading <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-is-giving-employees-more-flexibility-to-work-from-home-2021-5">Sundar Pichai's note at Google</a> and thinking that's pretty much what I think everybody's doing. Most companies are basically saying, 'Okay, here's the framework.' You know we got some people who are going to work remotely all the time and we've always had people who did that-salespeople, some coders, other people. We have another group that is going to be that 'have to be in the office to do their jobs'-some hardware engineers just don't have a choice. And then the vast majority are going to be two or three days in and two or three days out. I think we'll try to kind of herd everybody into the same two or three days so it feels like a normal office when you're in. You can bump into people or ideate with people. But we're going to wait and see how it goes. I think we're going to be very flexible.Insider: Educating the next generation is important, but how does Logitech plan on educating its current employees? Darrell: I think if you talk to the average employee at Logitech, you get a slightly orthogonal answer to that which is we do have training programs and we try to help people grow. We try to give people freedom-the freedom to do new things and do things a different way. And it shows up in our internal surveys, we really stand out in that regard, so we're less about trying to teach people new skills and more about letting people learn new things on their own by giving them new responsibilities or letting them take on responsibilities that are around them. It might sound a little nebulous, but it's one of the things I'm most proud of in our culture.Insider: Switching gears a bit. In the weeks after the summer protests broke out, you did a post on LinkedIn sharing how Logitech would address racism and bias. Why was it important for you as the leader of the company to say something? Darrell: This story is a little longer than you signed up for but I feel like I need to tell it to answer your question. I grew up in the south with very progressive parents. My mom was as anti-racist as you could be in the time when I was growing up. She was amazing. So we really grew up feeling like we were some of the good guys-my brothers and sister, and I, we were really on the right side of all this and not only this but just generally with LGBTQ [as well]. When George Floyd was killed, it took me a couple of days… I found myself at my kitchen table where I worked every day, just thinking about South Africa and what people were doing then and I don't know why I started thinking about South Africa. You know, they were sitting there in the middle of apartheid and why didn't those people speak up? And then I really realized that we're sitting in American apartheid and I haven't spoken out. That was incredibly powerful, more for me because I have a platform. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-cant-breathe-bracken-darrell/">I write on LinkedIn</a> and people read it, I have lots of followers. It was like getting hit in the head with a frying pan, but the pain never went away and it shouldn't so I immediately started calling friends and apologizing. I just didn't realize what I'd done, and then it actually changed the direction of my life. I was like 'Wow.' I know who I thought I was, but if I'm not doing something… That was the beginning of my very aggressive path to where we are now as an individual and as a company.Insider: In that same letter, you talked about supporting communities and minoritized groups. What do those actions look like now? Darrell: We've really recentered our whole purpose against these two things which is one we're already doing and this one we thought we were doing, but we weren't. One of them is the environment and the other one is diversity, equity, and inclusion. <keyword id="684680" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="DEI">DEI</keyword> became a central part of our purpose which was to enable all people to pursue their passions. So that's been our purpose, but [now,] all people. Part of the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/juneteenth-time-act-bracken-darrell/">Juneteenth letter</a> is really an explanation of how we're taking an end-to-end approach from our suppliers' suppliers, through our suppliers. We have as part of our diversity program through our own company-up and down the company-pay, promotion, everything, all the way through to customer experience and who we target and how we enable it. That's where we've been and it's obviously a long-term thing. I want to be held accountable personally and as a company. And I want people to track exactly what we've committed and we'll come back on a regular basis. And if I'm not doing it and we're not getting it done [rapidly], I should be fired. We're the same on the environment. We're way ahead on the environment compared to where we are in the US, and we're making up a lot of ground right now.

CEO of Logitech shares plans for returning to the office, addressing racism and climate change

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>So many ambitious high schoolers dream of attending an Ivy League college. In fact, nearly 250,000 students in total applied to the eight Ivy schools last year, <a href="https://www.ivycoach.com/2015-ivy-league-admissions-statistics/">according to IvyCoach.com</a>. In the early 1980s, Bracken Darrell found himself at a crossroads. He "really wanted to go to an Ivy League school," he <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/business/bracken-darrell-of-logitech-be-sure-to-tell-the-boss-whats-wrong.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fcorner-office&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=business&amp;region=rank&amp;module=package&amp;version=highlights&amp;contentPlacement=1&amp;pgtype=collection&amp;_r=0">told </a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/business/bracken-darrell-of-logitech-be-sure-to-tell-the-boss-whats-wrong.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fcorner-office&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=business&amp;region=rank&amp;module=package&amp;version=highlights&amp;contentPlacement=1&amp;pgtype=collection&amp;_r=0">Adam Bryant of The New York Times</a>, but thought he'd never be able to pay for it.So instead, he went to a smaller liberal arts college - Hendrix College - in Conway, Arkansas, where he majored in English, but "took enough accounting and economics courses to move in the path I wanted, which was leadership through business."Attending a non-Ivy school as an undergraduate student ended up being a smart move for Darrell, who is now the CEO of Logitech, a technology accessories company with a <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/LOGI?p=LOGI">market capitalization of $3.6 billion</a>. He recently told Bryant:"Hendrix was great for me. It was very small. It was even smaller than my high school, but it was a place where I could be a big fish in a small pond. One of my lines within the company is that we want to play where we can be a big fish in a small pond. That strategy is a lot better than being a small fish in a big ocean."Later, Darrell ended up attending Harvard Business School for his MBA from 1989 through 1991. He went on to work at big companies like Procter &amp; Gamble, General Electric, Whirlpool, and Logitech, where he joined as president of the company in 2012, and took over the CEO role in early 2013.<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/business/bracken-darrell-of-logitech-be-sure-to-tell-the-boss-whats-wrong.html">Read the full New York Times interview here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ivanka-trump-fire-employee-career-strategy-2016-8">Ivanka Trump says this is the one thing you should always do before firing someone</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="A4bGVjNTE6cOgtyFOrO6Sev5T2Zf5mUU" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

A CEO says forgoing the Ivy League after high school taught him a lesson he uses to run a $3.6 billion company today

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>When you're a recent grad, everyone wants to throw advice your way. But when the CEO of a big-time company shares a few pearls of wisdom, you'll probably want to listen.Bracken Darrell, the CEO of <a href="https://www.logitech.com/en-us">Logitech</a>, a technology accessories company with a <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/LOGI?p=LOGI">market capitalization of $3.6 billion</a>, recently talked to Adam Bryant of The New York Times.During that conversation, Darrell <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/business/bracken-darrell-of-logitech-be-sure-to-tell-the-boss-whats-wrong.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fcorner-office&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=business&amp;region=rank&amp;module=package&amp;version=highlights&amp;contentPlacement=1&amp;pgtype=collection&amp;_r=0">told Bryant</a> that his favorite commencement address is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc">Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford speech</a>, during which the late Apple cofounder advised the graduating class to follow their passion."You should follow your passions, of course," Darrell said. "The problem is that 80% of people don't really know what their passion is."So, he told Bryant, he has some other pearls of wisdom he'd share with new grads:"My first piece of advice: Just work really, really hard. It's amazing how good life is if you work hard."My second piece of advice is to set goals. You know, goals are free. They don't cost you anything, and they're so effective. It's about staying hungry, and setting a goal is just a way of creating hunger."The single thing that's made me successful over my life, the most important one, is drive. It's not I.Q. It's not some luck of having social skills that somebody else doesn't have. It's just drive."I had the huge advantage of growing up with very little, and nothing really to fall back on. But you've got to find ways to stay hungry."<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/business/bracken-darrell-of-logitech-be-sure-to-tell-the-boss-whats-wrong.html">Read the full New York Times interview here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ivanka-trump-negotiating-mistakes-strategy-careers-2016-8">Ivanka Trump reveals 3 things you should avoid when negotiating</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1ucDc4NTE6h2uNZ677jXTXa0MOxNJAKQ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

The CEO of a $3.6 billion company shares his best advice for new college grads

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Apex Legends</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>"Apex Legends" and "Fortnite" have tens of millions of players and are transforming the video-game industry.</li><li>The two free-to-play, 'battle Royale' games have boosted their creators, Electronic Arts and Epic Games, as well as retailers and toy makers such as GameStop.</li><li>They have hurt other video-game publishers such as Activision Blizzard, and pushed some studios to shut down. </li><li>Watch <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/ea-stock">EA</a>, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/gme-stock">GameStop</a>, and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/atvi-stock">Activision-Blizzard</a> trade live.</li></ul>"Fortnite" and "Apex Legends" have shaken up the video-game industry, boosting their creators as well as retailers and toymakers, but hurting rival publishers and pushing some studios to shut down."Fortnite" is the the world's most popular game with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-people-play-fortnite-2018-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">around 250 million players</a>. It's signature, free-to-play mode drops 100 players on an island for a "battle royale" with only one winner. It generated <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-does-fortnite-make-2019-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">close to $2.5 billion in revenue</a> from sales of virtual items in 2018, according to Nielsen's SuperData tracking arm. Creator Epic Games netted $3 billion in profit from "Fortnite" and its other games last year, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/27/epic-fortnite-3-billion-profit/">according to Techcrunch</a>.Electronic Arts' entry in the battle-royale genre, "Apex Legends," was released in February and attracted more than <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apex-legends-downloads-2-million-first-day-2019-2?r=US&amp;IR=T">50 million players in its first month</a>. Nearly 30% of the game's players are new to EA, CEO Andrew Wilson said on the company's <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4261270-electronic-arts-inc-ea-ceo-andrew-wilson-q4-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">fourth-quarter earnings call</a>. The influx of fresh blood fueled a boost in total active players to more than 500 million in the year to March. "'Apex Legends' is easily the fastest-growing franchise we've ever had," said COO Blake Jorgensen on the call.He estimated the game drew between 7.5 million and 15 million players simultaneously - five to 10 times the largest number of users on FIFA at any one time.It also drove EA's net bookings - net revenue plus any change in deferred revenue - from live services up 24% to $854 million <a href="https://ir.ea.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2019/Electronic-Arts-Reports-Q4-and-Full-Year-FY19-Financial-Results/default.aspx">last quarter</a>. Management predicted "Apex Legends" would generate net bookings of $300 million to $400 million this fiscal year, driving overall live-services net bookings up 10% to 15%."Apex looks to have had an oversized impact on the quarter despite its short time on the market," Gerrick Johnson, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said in a research note. "Given that 'Apex Legends' is still a relatively new phenomenon, we believe the guidance for this free-to-play game is on the conservative side."However, Wilson warned the game's daily user count had "come down slightly" since February, and strongly suggested user spending was down. Those trends highlight a major headache with free-to-play games - pushing out enough content and virtual items for sale to keep players engaged and money rolling in."The biggest challenge on spend is having enough things that people could spend money on," he said.<h2>Other companies have benefited from the hype around "Apex Legends" and "Fortnite."</h2>GameStop's net sales of accessories surged 22% to $957 million last fiscal year. Customers snapped up headsets and controllers, reflecting the "ongoing popularity of battle-royale-genre games like 'Fortnite' and now 'Apex Legends,'" COO Robert Lloyd said on the video-game retailer's <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4252488-gamestop-corp-gme-management-q4-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">fourth-quarter earnings call</a>. Both games continue to drive sales of accessories and in-game currency in its stores, he added.Similarly, Turtle Beach CEO Juergen Stark described the "Fortnite effect" on the gaming-accessories group's <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4261763-turtle-beach-corporation-hear-ceo-juergen-stark-q1-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">fourth-quarter earnings call</a>. He argued most of the growth in headset sales in North America between 2017 and 2018 - from about 9 million to 14.7 million, according to Nielsen - was "attributable to the influx of new gamers and new headset users from battle royale games, especially Fortnite."Moreover, "Apex Legends is "keeping headset users engaged," and its lack of a price tag frees up money for gamers to spend on replacing and upgrading their headsets, Stark added.It's been a similar story at Logitech, the computer accessories group. Fortnite and PUBG - PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, another battle royale game - were "bringing new gamers into the market and driving upgrades to gaming-dedicated peripherals," CEO Bracken Darrell said on the <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4169594-logitechs-logi-ceo-bracken-darrell-q4-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">fourth-quarter earnings call last year</a>. "If you create something that has magnetic appeal...and it's fun to watch, like Fortnite, you have the potential to drive not only the existing players to move over, but even more important, new players to come in and new people to start watching," Darrell added."There are new games coming on that look like they're on track to be as big as Fortnite," he said on Logitech's <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4258078-logitech-international-s-logi-ceo-bracken-darrell-q4-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">fourth-quarter earnings call this year</a>, suggesting he thinks "Apex Legends" could provide a similar boost to the market.<h2>"Fortnite" obsession has also spread to the toy shelf.</h2>Funko, which <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/heres-how-funko-dodged-the-toys-r-us-disaster-2019-3-1028035533">makes pop-culture collectibles such as bobbleheads</a>, earned 10% of its revenue from "Fortnite" last quarter, <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4259404-funko-inc-fnko-ceo-brian-mariotti-q1-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">according to its latest earnings call</a>. Meanwhile, Hasbro executives reported "a very strong start" for "Nerf Fortnite" and said "Fortnite: Monopoly" was "performing well" on the toy giant's <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4255973-hasbro-inc-ceo-brian-goldner-q1-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">first-quarter earnings call</a>.Others are starting to see their "Fortnite" tailwind fade. Plantronics' sales of consumer headsets slowed to about $48 million last quarter - lower than in any of the previous three quarters - as "the Fortnite phenomenon is starting to play out a little bit," CEO Joseph Burton said on the audio-communications group's <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4261239-plantronics-inc-plt-ceo-joseph-burton-q4-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">fourth-quarter earnings call</a>.<h2>The success of "Apex Legends" and "Fortnite" has come at others' expense.</h2>Keywords Studios - which provides testing, localization, and other services to video-game companies - said in its <a href="https://www.keywordsstudios.com/content/uploads/2019/04/Keywords-Studios-Annual-Report-2018.pdf">latest annual report</a> that "the competitive effect and loss of player base" from "Fortnite" forced its clients to spend less on supporting their games and terminate games entirely. By vacuuming up too many dollars, the game may also have pressured studios such as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/telltale-games-layoffs-winding-down-operations-2018-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">Telltale</a> and Starbreeze into closing down, it added.Activision-Blizzard's franchises - which include "Overwatch," "Call of Duty," and "Warcraft" - suffered "some reach impact from competitors," COO Collister Johnston said on the company's <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4259399-activision-blizzard-inc-atvi-ceo-robert-kotick-q1-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single">first-quarter earnings call</a>, referring to "Fortnite" and "Apex Legends." Total monthly active users fell by 3% to 345 million, <a href="https://investor.activision.com/static-files/3852b757-73e0-47a4-86e4-cda7d11bbce5">according to the group's earnings report</a>, pushing net bookings down about 9% to below $1.3 billion for the quarter.However, Johnson spied "real opportunity" for Activision-Blizzard in the combined battle royale and free-to-play space, particularly as the company is ramping up investment in its biggest franchises. A game that throws "Warcraft" or "Overwatch" characters into a battle royale could be around the corner."Fortnite" has popularized the battle royale format in video games, fueled demand for everything from gaming headsets to board games, eaten into others' sales, and perhaps even pressured competitors to shut up shop. "Apex Legends" and the inevitable copycats will hope to make a similar mark on the industry. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-2-details-you-missed-2019-4">14 details you may have missed in 'Game of Thrones' season 8 episode 2</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

How 'Apex Legends' and 'Fortnite' are transforming the video game industry

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIbrGMpcfoo">MeetTheBoss via YouTube</a></div></div>Don't fret, English majors: There are employers out there looking for you.
One such empolyer is Bracken Darrell, the CEO of <keyword id="157798" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Logitech">Logitech</keyword>. He loves hiring English majors. 
In fact, he thinks graduates of the <keyword id="612109" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Liberal-Arts">liberal arts</keyword> are so rare that he calls them "endangered species."
"If you find one, you need to run over and catch them in a conversation," he tells Business Insider.
This support for <keyword id="1739434" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="English-Major">English major</keyword>s isn't solely because Darrell graduated with an English degree from a small, private liberal arts <keyword id="6360288" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="college">college</keyword> in Arkansas. Or that his dad was an English major. Or that his mom was an elementary school English teacher. Or even that his grandmother was an English major.
It's because, contrary to what most <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-with-English-majors-2013-5">employers think of English majors</a>, Darrell believes those "soft skills" are greatly needed in today's technical world.
"The older I get, the more I realize the power of words and the power of words in making you think ... the best CEOs and leaders are extremely good writers and have this ability to articulate and verbalize what they're thinking," he says.
In a <a href="http://accountemps.rhi.mediaroom.com/2013-06-19-Survey-Few-CFOs-Plan-to-Invest-in-Interpersonal-Skills-Development-for-Their-Teams">survey published Wednesday by </a><a href="http://accountemps.rhi.mediaroom.com/2013-06-19-Survey-Few-CFOs-Plan-to-Invest-in-Interpersonal-Skills-Development-for-Their-Teams">Accountemps</a>, the top reason CFOS said their workers fail to advance is poor interpersonal skills.

"You don't have to be an English major to learn how to do this, but the classes do help you express yourself and build communication skills."
These soft skills come from personal aptitudes and attitudes that are often attained after years of studying the liberal arts. Darrell says there's a thoughtfulness about culture that isn't emphasized in majors outside literature and the arts. This understanding of people will affect how you connect to others, which plays a role in your influence and leadership skills.
That's the secret: connecting and communicating. That's what English majors acquire after years of critiquing and discussing their thoughts in group settings. Eventually, they become comfortable with sharing their ideas.
According to Darrell, right now is when we need English majors the most.
"I'm sitting in Silicon Valley [right now] ... this is the most technical place in the country except for maybe the MIT campus ... I mean, there's more engineers per capita here."
"Yet the most successful guy in Silicon Valley in the last decade was Steve Jobs and he supported the liberal arts," Darrell says, referring to Jobs' <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904875404576532342684923826.html%20">quote in 2010</a> when he said that "it's technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields the results that make our hearts sing." 
As technology continue to dominate our economy for years to come, Darrell believes that companies would benefit from having "great thinkers" who were taught to dissect and critique various scenarios. In a <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2013/06/06/youre-really-differentiated-if-you-understand-humanities/?KEYWORDS=bracken+darrell">piece he wrote in The WSJ earlier this month</a>, Darrell said design requires "an understanding of art," because "design is certainly more than engineering. It’s really the integration of a bunch of things."
Although not many will argue against the value of creative thinking and communicating, today's economy is centered on knowledge, and specific technical skills are needed to obtain jobs that are on the rise.
So how does an English major make it in today's job market?
They need to supplement their liberal arts <keyword id="6355445" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Education">education</keyword>. Between his English classes, Darrell took finance courses to set himself apart from his peers. He then eventually went to Harvard Business School to get his MBA. He advises young people in college today consider a double major if they want to study the arts. Or at least enroll in classes that will teach them technical skills as well. 
The central message of Darrell is to not live in a bubble. Yes, he loves hiring English majors, but he understands the most successful people are the ones who have learned to broaden their skill set with traits that will give them an edge.

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