Strava Acquires Fatmap Strava has just announced that it has closed the acquisition deal for FATMAP. That may come as a shock to some of us. Perhaps we imagined that the secrecy behind Strava’s recent price rises signalled that the company was in some sort of financial trouble. Well, apparently not. Strava has probably just shelled out some big cash to buy FATMAP. FATMAP…Who? More: FATMAP.com FATMAP’s speciality is 3D maps for outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, and mountain biking. Typically the focus is on off-road and outdoor activities. Its maps feature detailed terrain information and can be used in an iOS/Android app or online. It also offers additional features such as route planning and personalized recommendations for outdoor activities. The detailed terrain models include: topographic contours; accurate trail data (claimed); natural features such as rivers and lakes; and man-made features like lift systems and mountain huts. These are all included in map layers along with other, more standard map layers to provide a rich mapping experience. Weather and snow reports can be overlain on the 3D map. Users create and share their own routes, and access a community of like-minded outdoor enthusiasts to share information and advice. FATMAP offers a one-stop solution for outdoor enthusiasts to plan, navigate and share their experiences. FATMAP – Why did STRAVA buy it? Any current STRAVA user who has been on a hike or a skiing holiday will probably already have realised many of the gaps in Strava’s app that FATMAP’s features could fill. Here is a brainstorm on the attractiveness of FATMAP to Strava: Complementarity: Strava does cover hiking to some degree and it does have 3D mapping to some degree. However, Strava’s strength is with the running and cycling crowd. Engagement: By adding more detailed and interactive map features to the STRAVA app, users may be more likely to spend more time using the app to plan and participate in outdoor activities. New users: FATMAP’s focus on outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, and mountain biking will bring new users to STRAVA. Feature Expansion: Fatmap’s capabilities will enable Strava to expand the scope of its product offering. Competitor Differentiation: Companies like RwGPS and KOMOOT get ever-closer to offering similar features to those on offer by Strava. FATMAP’s detailed and interactive maps will help differentiate Strava from the evolving competition. Kerching! (Revenue): Strava has also bought FATMAP’s user base as well as its feature sets. Some of those users may become paying Strava subscribers. Brand extension: Strava will become more visible to a new outdoor customer audience. Efficiency/Synergy: STRAVA might save resources and time that would have been spent on developing similar features in-house. FATMAP – Why the acquisition might fail Strava’s USP is Segments. That is, dividing roads, paths and trails up into little chunks and then motivating us to do each chunk a little bit faster or a little bit more often. Segments attract a certain kind of performance-focused person, albeit that performance might be tempered within a casual social Sunday group of like-minded cyclists. I can’t see how FATMAP adds anything to segments or the traditional performance-focused cyclists. And I can’t see how Strava adds that much to hikers and skiers. Thus, if Strava is trying to grab an entirely new fitness market for its traditional Subscriber features, I reckon it’ll fail. On the other hand, if Strava is merely boosting the features on offer, then…fine! Ultimately, my opinion of Strava is that it is not the most pleasant of apps to use. Cramming in yet more features to a relatively poorly designed interface will almost certainly NOT improve the user experience. ← Back to the Strava Hub
