Headphone accessories

	Koonhome's A-006 silicone winder is shaped into a fish bone pattern.

Rubber accessories still sell, but makers need to maintain product quality and invent new designs to head off competition.

Headphone accessories are dependent on the headphone industry, having gone through steady development in the past five years as the headphone industry saw revitalization. However, the complementary nature of such products can also be leveraged to affect demand for headphones.

Fashionable accessories with new designs can enhance headphone and earphone products to attract emerging markets and boost the industry.

Headphone accessories range from splitters, adapters, ear seals and earplugs to winders and wire organizers. In mainland China, a lot of makers specialize in winders, earplugs and ear seals. These three products are widely used in portable entertainment devices.

Winders do away with tangled earphone wires but also serve as a fashion accessory with their attractive patterns and designs. Ear seals give comfort when listening to audio. Seals made of silicone minimize outside noise while cushioning the ears from the hard headphone material.

There are about 30 active manufacturers in Shenzhen that mass produce headphone accessories and maintain a relatively constant monthly output. About 95 percent of these manufacturers are individually run enterprises.

	The 27E762 ear plugs from Groove provides better acoustic performance.

Materials and aesthetic design are important aspects to consider in headphone accessories. Silicone is widely used to make winders and ear seals, since the material is non-toxic and environment-friendly. Products made of silicone are comfortable to touch and can be colored or shaped into fashionable, attractive designs to appeal to the target customer—young consumers.

OEM specialist Beelan Enterprise Co. Ltd can manufacture products quickly to meet client requirements. Its products are widely used with iPods, MP3/MP4 players, mobile phones, PDAs and game accessories. The company’s main headphone accessory product is the winder, which can be made of silicone or other materials. The company provides a full supply chain solution that includes designing, molding, producing and packaging. Beelan is committed to reducing client purchasing costs and releasing new, popular products regularly. Its products are non-toxic and safe and are FCC-certified.

To improve products and remain competitive, Shenzhen SoonLeader Electronics Co. Ltd is enhancing its R&D capability to continuously introduce new products to the market. Shenzhen SoonLeader, a professional manufacturer of iPod-compatible accessories, mobile phone accessories and other related products, is involved in the study, development, production, management and sale of silicone cases, leather cases, earphones, speakers and batteries. Winders and ear seals are its major headphone accessory products. The maker’s exports are considered to be of good quality.

Shenzhen Koonhome Technology Co. Ltd, which focuses on headphones and earphones, manufactures headphone accessories to complement its main products. Its colorful winders are mainly shipped to overseas markets. The company’s model A-006, a fish bone-shaped winder, has been selling consistently well since its release in 1998.

Shenzhen Koonhome’s engineers and designers aim to provide quality products according to customer requirements. New products can be ordered and developed with short lead times.

Groove Industries Co. Ltd’s R&D efforts are concentrated on product comfort, appearance and package design. With emphasis on innovation and quality, Groove puts 1 percent of sales revenue in R&D and has developed its strengths in designing new products according to customer specifications. Earplugs are the company’s main product, the latest of which is the 27E762 released in August 2007.

	SL-earphone-001 ear seals from SoonLeader are made of silicone, eliminating noise and providing comfortable fit.

The prices of headphone accessories are relatively low but mostly differ with material, appearance and the quantity of order.

Silicone made in mainland China is priced lower than that from overseas. At the same time, products with more popular aesthetic designs are priced higher.

Earphone seals are generally priced lower than winders, which range from 10 to 80 cents.

Beelan’s HFACC006 is a type of winder made of silicone. The clown model is priced at 12 cents. The A-006 fish bone winder from Shenzhen Koonhome is 70 cents. The SL-earphone-001 ear seal from Shenzhen Soonleader is priced at 7 cents.

Shenzhen Koonhome believes the price of products will continue to be stable. Although the exchange rate and fluctuation in material costs certainly affect product prices, stiff competition and price wars keep them down. For 2008, it is predicted to become a balancing act. Higher-quality and safer products will be more popular than ever, directly increasing production cost. On the other hand, makers would have to cut costs to face the competitive market environment.

To be sure, maintaining product quality and designing new, fashionable offerings would be main determinants of profit growth. “How to survive in this competitive market is a problem that small and medium-scale manufacturers will be facing this year,” said Birdie Yu, sales manager at Beelan.

About 90 percent of manufacturers in mainland China can provide OEM support, with the service comprising 80 to 95 percent of their production output.

For Shenzhen Koonhome, 80 percent of products are shipped overseas, mainly to Europe and America. The company projects that its output and export quantity will increase by 20 percent in 2008 due to higher market demand.

Groove also plans to expand production output in the coming months. About 95 percent of its products are exported to North America, Germany, France and South America.

Beelan and Shenzhen SoonLeader both export 90 percent of their winder products.

With more and more portable entertainment systems like MP3 players, MP4 players and handheld gaming consoles coming into wide and popular use, the headphone accessories industry is ratcheting up efforts to make the devices more convenient, comfortable and fashionable. Innovative designs and multipurpose products are keeping the headphone accessories market active.

An increasing number of companies are also cutting lead times for the development of new models to stay in the competition.

Shenzhen SoonLeader is capable of providing new products to meet customer specifications in a period of 10 days.

Groove can release more than 30 new models in one year.

Beelan, meanwhile, can customize new products according to client requirements. Although Beelan has less than 20 models designed in-house, the company regularly releases new products that are customized for different orders.

Beelan, established in 2001, operates a 1,500sqm production facility and employs more than 100 workers in Shenzhen. The company has three production lines and provides OEM services.

The monthly capacity of Beelan for winders is 1 million units.

Shenzhen Soonleader began manufacturing headphone accessories when it was founded in 2000. It has 500 workers in Shenzhen, including 30 in the R&D department and 30 in QC. The manufacturer provides OEM services and its products comply with FCC and RoHS specifications. Shenzhen Koonhome’s daily capacity for winders is about 2,000 units.

Shenzhen Koonhome was founded in 1998 as a manufacturer of iPod-compatible and gaming accessories. It has a 2,000sqm factory in Shenzhen Fuyong, with 300 workers, of which 20 are in R&D and 25 in QC. It has 10 production lines and provides OEM services. All of the company’s products are CE-approved.

Shenzhen Koonhome can produce up to 200,000 units of winders a month.

Groove was founded in 2000 to produce professional microphones and wireless microphone systems, but has since branched out to make headphone accessories. The ISO 9000-certified company’s products have FCC, RoHS and CE approvals. It has a 3,200sqm factory in Shenzhen with more than 500 workers, including nine in R&D and 30 in QC. Groove has 15 production lines and more than five years of OEM experience.

Groove has a monthly capacity of 1 million units of headphone accessories.