Johannesburg, 14 Oct 2004
Esquire Technologies, one of SA's leading national distributors of computer hardware and peripherals, is making it easier for small to medium enterprises (SMEs), specifically BEE operations, to get started and build up a business.
Esquire has developed several strategies to assist SMEs - these include Internet-based payments at their premises, competitive pricing and immediate availability of stock, as well as no queuing.
Asgar Mahomed, managing director of Esquire, says: "For small operations, they need the competitive-edge, and time means money. They can't spend time queuing when they could be doing another sale. We have also minimised the red tape, so that it's quick and easy to open an account, provided they are credit-worthy."
Several of the large computer distributors are discouraging the smaller dealer to do business with them by imposing a join-up dealership fee.
"This fee makes it difficult for small to medium businesses to get going," says Mahomed. "As distributors from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, we are aware of the start-up and teething problems of a small business. As many of the smaller dealers are from this sector, we are committed to the SME market and will continue to offer them the support and opportunity to grow their businesses and hopefully become the distributor of choice when they expand and become multinationals."
Mahomed stresses that it's vital to deliver tier one, quality global products to this market sector. "Just because they're small, it doesn't mean they are less demanding. As a matter of fact, as small operators they need best-of-breed products to ensure reliability and minimal come-back from their customers.
"For this reason, we have secured distribution of world-class products, such as ABIT motherboards, CTX monitors, Sapphire ATI graphic cards, TEAC, Altec Lansing, among others, and forged key global value chain relationships with companies like Intel, BenQ, Computer Associates, Microsoft, to name a few. In addition, we've opened branches nationally in Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth, with our head office at Midrand to support the SME dealers countrywide."
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