Zimi Limited (ASX:ZMM) designs smart home devices, including its Senoa range of smarter switches, dimmers and power points that combine glass touch technology, proximity sensing, customisable colours and laser-etched icons. In an ASX release dated 23 September 2026, the company announced an exclusive distribution agreement with Directed Electronics Australia (Directed) for its next generation of Matter-enabled products in Australia and New Zealand.

Terms of the distribution agreement

Directed becomes Zimi's exclusive distributor for retail, direct-to-consumer and direct-to-business channels across Australia and New Zealand, for an initial term of three years with an option to extend for a further two years. The agreement covers Zimi's next generation of Matter-enabled products, due to launch in 2027 through Directed's retail network of more than 10,000 outlets.

Zimi said Directed's decision followed an evaluation of its engineering, design and Manufacturing capabilities, its readiness to meet Australian and New Zealand electrical standards and the commercial opportunity in the smart home category. The new agreement is complementary to Zimi's wholesale distribution agreement with GSM Electrical (Australia) Pty Ltd, renewed and announced on 5 March 2025, which continues to serve the electrical trade and wholesale market. Together the two distributors give Zimi a path to market across both channels.

About Directed

Directed is part of the Directed Group of Companies, which operates in Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Thailand, South Africa, the Philippines and Mexico. It has two divisions: Directed Electronics, which brings consumer electronics brands to retailers, and Directed Technologies, which develops OEM and telematics solutions for global manufacturers. Its Brand portfolio includes OURA, EZVIZ, Lucyd, Square, SteelSeries and owned brands such as Ryze and Pixbee. It supplies retailers including Bunnings, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Noel Leeming and Officeworks, operates from a head office and distribution centre at Melbourne Airport and opened a $15 million connected vehicle and IoT technology hub in 2023.

Matter and the next generation range

The announcement describes Matter as a global standard for the connected home developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, which has more than 900 member companies and board members including Amazon, Apple, Google and Samsung. Zimi says it was among the first Australian manufacturers to achieve Matter certification, and that it has spent 2026 re-engineering the Senoa range to adopt the standard so that products work with ecosystems such as Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings.

The next generation range will launch in 2027. The company says retailers have traditionally focused on smart bulbs, whereas a smart switch controls the lighting, fans and heaters already in a home from the wall without replacing fittings, and customers can start with one or two switches or scale to a whole-home installation. Zimi said it will announce further product additions in due course.

Market data and investor briefing

The release cites market reports from MarketsandMarkets and Grand View Research that forecast the global smart home market to grow to between US$450 billion and US$887 billion within the next decade. Zimi will host an open investor briefing at 11:30am AEST on Tuesday 29 September 2026.

Risks and sector context

The agreement relates to products that are not yet on sale, and the company states that they are due to launch in 2027. The announcement does not state minimum order volumes, Revenue expectations or pricing under the agreement, so its financial effect is not quantified. The initial term of three years can be extended only by option. The market size forecasts are third-party estimates for the global smart home market and do not indicate Zimi's sales. The company also notes that retailers have not traditionally sold this kind of product, so retail range Placement is a new category for them.

What to watch next

Items to watch include the investor briefing on 29 September 2026, the 2027 launch of the Matter product range through Directed, additions to the product portfolio the company says it will announce, and any update on the wholesale channel through GSM Electrical.