An iNiche Market FROM TN BUSINESS
"Paul Griffin might have a reason or two to be quiet about his business. Fourteen years ago, the inventor and electrical engineer founded a company in Nashville that made adapters for Apple Macintosh computers, making them work with PC monitors. Since then, the mom-and-pop business, which at some point employed only a handful of people at its Elm Hill Pike warehouse, grew to one of the world’s largest makers of peripheral products for all things Mac.
So why is Paul Griffin shying away from publicity? First off, his business is closely held and sales appear to be going through the roof (to the tune of some $80 million last year, according to people familiar with the company). If the numbers are good, who needs publicity?
Take iPod. Since the portable players were introduced in 2001, Apple Computer has sold 42.2 million of them, barely keeping up with surging demand. Last year alone, iPods accounted for one-third of Apple’s sales. If digital players are hot, their accessories proved to be at least equally attractive to gadget lovers. But Apple makes few accessories on its own, and leaves much of the job to third-party manufacturers and vendors. That’s where Griffin comes in. Some of Griffin’s most popular products, such as AirBase, iTrip and radio Shark, retail in the range of $39.99 and $69.99.
And competition is fierce. In 2004, Griffin sued its former vice president of marketing Andrew Green after he took a job at DLO in a similar role. Green had worked for Griffin between 2002 and 2004, and participated in the design of iTrip, one of Griffin’s most successful products. DLO’s parent Netalog later sued Griffin for patent infringement.
But legal maneuvering is not the only reason Griffin might be disinclined to talk. Independent makers of Apple’s peripheral paraphernalia seem ripe for consolidation, and Paul Griffin and his brain trust at Griffin may just want to fly under the radar, at least for the time being. One Apple analyst, Shaw Wu of California-based American Technology Research, says it’s about time somebody got bought.
With its slick products and robust growth, Griffin Technology certainly presents a tempting target.
(NOTE FROM MO---Paul Griffin still wears jeans to the office, drives an average car, and lives in an average neighborhood. In short, he has not lost his identity in the face of what is- quite staggering success. Paul may be a bit over protective about his success, but he is easily in my book the most succesful business person in Nashville--and could quite literally be a Nashville business celebrity if he so chose to do so. He is a genius and a great guy at the same time. Now, we just need to get him to get interested in philanthropic or big time marketing activities---Perhaps the Griffin Entertainment Center (we could still call it the GEC), or maybe Paul will be solicited now for charitable donations for worthy causes he finds interesting. Whatever happens, it's great to have a new super successful business person in Nashville.
