Following a majority (51%) buy-out of local PC assembler Packard Bell NEC by international parent NEC Computers International (NEC CI), South Africa now hosts the second NEC CI subsidiary worldwide, positioning it to tackle the professional market.
[VIDEO]Operating under the name NEC South Africa, the assembler will tackle the professional market under the NEC brand while still servicing its consumers through the Packard Bell line. Martin Banner, MD NEC South Africa, says that the "fairly significant capital injection puts us on a solid footing for professional services." With corporate sales currently accounting for 20% of its business, Banner hopes to increase this revenue to 50% within a year and 80% in three years.
Moving beyond the PC business, the NEC family of products also includes LCD and plasma displays, projectors, notebooks, and servers. The fourth quarter will see the introduction of storage devices and PDAs carrying the NEC logo.
NEC will follow a two-tier hybrid channel model locally, supplying both directly to large corporates and through its current channel, but "only if they add value". Its deal with Pinnacle to produce a variety of non-NEC/Packard Bell 'private label` branded products to alternative markets will continue operating.
[VIDEO]The company is also negotiating a deal with Incredible Connection to allow the retailer to offer built-to-order products to the SME market.
The move will put NEC in direct competition with Compaq and Dell locally as it tries to capture the upper SME and middle tier market.
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