ZURICH, July 30 (Reuters) - Logitech International
is "well on track" with plans to move production lines
out of China to manage the impact of U.S. President Donald
Trump's tariffs, Chief Executive Hanneke Faber said on
Wednesday.
Logitech products, such as keyboards and mice, produced in China
and bound for the United States, face U.S. tariffs of up 30%.
That level could change depending on the outcome of ongoing
talks.
The company is seeking by the end of this year to reduce the
amount of its products made in China to 10% of the total
imported by the United States. Already it has fallen from 40%.
"We are a little bit better than 30% now. We are well on track,"
Faber told Reuters on Wednesday after Logitech reported its
first-quarter results.
It is switching production lines to Malaysia, Mexico,
Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam - countries where it works with
contract manufacturers.
"The manufacturing diversification that we've been doing out
in Asia and in Mexico is exemplary," she added. "We're not
seeing any material cost increases from moving stuff around and
that's quite a feat."
Logitech has also increased its prices in the United States
by 10% to offset the impact of tariffs, but says it does not
plan further price hikes.
Faber also said the company would continue to invest in new
products and seek to control costs as it adapts to economic
uncertainty.
"The tariffs are not a small thing, but we've been super
agile, changing plans at a moment's notice," Faber said. "That's
what we'll continue to do."
The Swiss-U.S. company has also benefited from an increased
focus on business customers that has included setting up
specialist sales teams and launching products.
Its sales of video conferencing equipment grew at more than
double the company's overall rate.
Faber said the business-to-business operation that caters
for offices, hospitals and schools was "a big strategic
priority".
"Logitech is a consumer company, but we've quietly built
about 40% of our business into a B2B business. "We're still
relatively young, so we are building up our capabilities."