Johannesburg, 28 Jan 2014
Esquire Technologies, one of the largest digital lifestyle distributors in South Africa, has announced it has landed the southern African distribution rights for Thrustmaster and Hercules products.
Guillemot Corporation, the French-based company, designs and manufactures interactive entertainment hardware and accessories. The group offers a wide range of diversified products under the Hercules brand name for video, audio, WiFi, DJ and Bluetooth products (Hercules WAE), and Thrustmaster for PC and game console accessories.
The signing of the deal is part and parcel of Esquire's aim to "aggressively expand the company's product range", with a specific focus on the digital lifestyle market.
This is according to Asgar Mahomed, MD of Esquire, who said the new products "fit perfectly" with the company's range of lifestyle-focused products.
He said the products will be sold through traditional channels, including via its home-grown virtual reseller network (VRN), as well as "other e-commerce stores" where Esquire has a presence.
Esquire's VRN is a world first in the technology space. "There is no other distributor in the world who has offered this service to its reseller base. It is a service that fundamentally not only enables them to trade online with Esquire, but also turns them into fully-fledged e-commerce businesses, with no investment required on their part. All they have to do is sign up with us," said Mahomed.
Esquire has invested R10 million in the development of its VRN to date, with Mahomed adding that its resellers do not have to invest "one cent" in stock because they have access to Esquire's entire stockholding, 24 hours a day.
Thrustmaster and Hercules products are already on Esquire's Web site, giving its resellers immediate access, said Mahomed.
He also said when an online order was placed by a reseller, the stock was automatically found and dispatched, with the system also finding the most cost-effective delivery route - with couriers fetching and delivering stock to resellers "within 24 to 48 hours".
"This has really empowered our clients," he said. "Our VRN has enabled us to bat smart and ensure that we are one step ahead of our competitors."
Commenting further, Mahomed said the company expects Thrustmaster and Hercules sales to "really start kicking in during Q2".
The Thrustmaster products are held in high esteem as premium gaming products, with the company also holding the licence to sell the Ferrari 458 Italia wheel official Xbox One. Thrustmaster also supports older product versions, including the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Hercules products are ideal for music enthusiasts, amateur and professional DJs (disk jockeys) with its range of DJ hardware.
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