Wearables slowdown puts Boat in choppy waters

Company enters IPO season on a weak footing as parent posts 2nd year of revenue drop in FY25

- AYANTI BERA

AFTER YEARS OF riding the wearable-tech boom, homegrown D2C startup Boat finds itself in troubled waters as it gears up for a long-delayed initial public offering (IPO).

Its parent, Imagine Marketing, has reported a second straight year of revenue decline in FY25, even as the company managed to return to profitability.

The maker of affordable earphones and smartwatches saw its revenue slip to ₹3,089 crore in FY25, down from ₹3,122 crore in FY24 and ₹3,285 crore in FY23, according to the company's filings sourced via Tofler. This decline reflects a wider slump in the wearables market, where both smartwatch and earwear sales have plateaued after seeing strong growth during the pandemic years.

While the overall wearable device market declined 11.3% in 2024, the first half of this year showed no relief either.

The slowdown has been particularly evident in the TWS (true wireless stereo) segment-Boat's bestselling category-which analysts now describe as a mature, necessity-driven market.

"TWS has matured into a necessity-driven category, so we expect steady, linear growth rather than any sharp spikes," said Vikas Sharma, senior analyst at IDC India.