Though the first swath of Christmas commercials always seem to arrive well before consumers are actually ready to be in gift buying mode, the navigation equipment space is a busy one right now.  Garmin faces heavy competition from Mio, Cobra, TomTom, and, of course, a slew of factory-installed systems from seemingly every major car maker (though Garmin is among them, with an announcement on October 17th that 725 Hyundai dealerships will start selling the Nuvi 360 by the beginning of November).

Mio 269: 

The Consumer Electronics Association said shipments of portable navigation units to retailers, dealers, and distributors will increase 88% this year to 1.3 million units, so the early Christmas commercials make sense for a company that has nearly a 50% market share in the navigation equipment business.

The store in Chicago will be the first of its kind dedicated to a comprehensive GPS experience for customers.  The company’s website will get a much needed makeover as well.  The current site is a bit dull and difficult to navigate (odd and ironic as that may be).  But Garmin is clearly showing timely dedication to its image, rolling out a comprehensive marketing agenda that should pay dividends in holiday sales.

Related Links:

Garmin's website

Mio's website

TomTom's website