The Notebook Company (
www.notebook.co.za
), one of the country`s leading laptop and accessory retailers, has announced that its Johannesburg rental and service branch, opened during the second quarter of 1999, has added 10% to the company`s revenue during the first six months of 2000.
The company`s newly-opened rental centre in Cape Town is still in the development stage, but is expected to account for 10% of group revenues during the fourth quarter of 2000. "It is amazing how different the Johannesburg and Cape Town markets are," said Christopher Riley, general manager of The Notebook Company. "Although there appears to be an increased buoyancy in the overall Cape business market - especially in the IT sector - it seems like Cape Town shoppers are slower to accept, and shop from, newly-opened outlets which are owned by a Pretoria-based group."
Despite this slow start, management believes its aggressive pricing, value-added services, and broad product offerings - which include all the market-leading brands, such as Compaq, Toshiba, IBM, Mecer, Auwa and Acer, will ultimately pique the market`s interest. Additionally, Riley believes there is a growing demand for the renting of laptops as users are ensured of staying up to date with the latest technology at all times.
"By renting out laptops via our Johannesburg and Cape Town outlets we are looking to bump up our annuity-based income. We hope to see annuity, or rental-based income, accounting for up to 35% of our turnover by the year ended February 2002," said Riley.
The company also recently became what is believed to be the first laptop company to offer a free door-to-door delivery to "anywhere in the country", including for those clients who opt to make an on-line purchase via the company`s web-site.
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