The computer mouse is one of those things that probably does not come to mind when thinking about climate change, but to Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber, even that little device is too polluting to allow people to purchase outright.
Instead, Faber would like to see Logitech customers opt for her new "forever mouse," which they would have to pay a regular subscription fee in order to use, kind of like a car lease.
Faber, described as "a longtime executive with an extensive background in consumer goods at conglomerates like Unilever and Procter & Gamble," told The Verge's "Decoder" podcast that her number-one priority moving forward is not to gouge customers with pointless subscription fees just because, but rather to "cut carbon emissions."
"I'm a big believer that you have to make a few changes if you want to get, in our case, even better results and a little faster growth with the same margins – and not unimportantly, reduce that carbon footprint by 50 percent," she said in the interview.
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When you need an excuse, just blame "climate change"
Notice the careful wording of the above quote from Faber, who makes it sound as though Logitech is doing wonderfully as it is and does not necessarily need to make its mouse products subscription based.
According to Faber, Logitech simply wants to do its part to "cut carbon emissions" by charging its customers over and over and over again to use their computer mouses in perpetuity.
What Faber conveniently failed to reveal during her interview is the truth, of course. Like the rest of the consumer market, product sales are plummeting now that the Wuhan coronavirus (covid-19) is over (at least for now) and the economy implodes.
Truth be told, Logitech's sales tapered so much after covid that its former CEO quit, leaving Faber as the new person in charge. Faber's leadership style seems to be one of lying to shareholders and coming up with harebrained stupidity like a subscription-based mouse.
Faber claims that a Logitech subscription-based mouse would be of such great quality that consumers will be jumping for joy at the opportunity to own one, no matter the recurring cost.
"What I'm actually hoping is that this will contribute to the longevity of our products, that we'll have more premium products but products that last longer because they're superior and because we can continue to update them over time," she said.
In Faber's mind, customers will want to keep their Logitech mouse or keyboard – yes, keyboards at Logitech could soon become subscription-based as well – forever because of their amazing strength and longevity. This will keep the money flowing into her pocket and the world's "carbon" in a death spiral.
"Imagine it's like your Rolex," Faber told the interviewer, comparing Logitech mouse and keyboard products to one of the world's most luxurious watch brands. "You're going to really like that."
When pressed about how software engineers at Logitech are now going to have to be employed to ship over-the-air updates to customers "forever," Faber started describing Logitech's future subscription-based products as a rare "artifact."
"We're not at the forever mouse today, but I'm intrigued by the thought," she imagined out loud. "I am intrigued by a forever mouse or forever video conferencing solution that you just update with software and create a business model around that."
Faber emphasized that she disapproves of the current average spend on a Logitech mouse, which is around $26. She described this as "really so low" and would rather see Logitech recreate its products more in the style of luxury handbags or designer sunglasses.
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