Retailers are becoming a significant part of the channel as computing continues to make its way into homes, says Rectron CEO Mark Lu.
"The last three years have seen some good growth in retail." He attributes this growth to campaigns by the likes of Intel pushing its digital home concepts and HP taking liquid crystal display (LCD) products to the home front.
"At the same time there has been a drive to converge IT and consumer electronics," explains Lu.
Illustrating the trend, he says, is HiFi Corporation`s recent order for 2 000 entry-level laser printers.
"Because the retailer is now such an important channel element, the traditional channel is no longer the correct pathway into the living room; it is not the right solution right now."
Lu feels traditional value-added resellers will continue to play a role in the channel, "but for the home they will become very small entities".
On the other hand, he sees a lot of potential for growth in the channel. "There is enough business available to even accommodate the birth of another big distributor.
"With SA being the obvious gateway to the rest of the continent, it would be worthwhile for people to invest in another distributor. There is no secret to succeeding in the distributor game, because the important thing here is to fund the resellers, period."
On the corporate side, Lu is seeing good adoption in mobile computing and other wireless technologies, and predicts that on the local area network side, mobile and wireless will replace desktops.
Growing markets
Lu is preparing Rectron for what he calls a "big boom" as the South African and African markets continue to grow.
Rectron recently invested in a R60 million building in Midrand, which will open next week. Lu says the building will improve efficiencies through new technology.
"Currently we are able to process 100 PCs on our assembly line per day; with the new building, we will be able to achieve five times that. This will surely please our resellers."
The company is doubling its delivery team, but while its operational team numbers will remain the same, he says it will have to triple its sales force.
Lu says Rectron will bring to market a lot more home entertainment products, such as digital video recorders, LCD screens and portable video recorders, before the end of the year.
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