US memory chipmaker SanDisk is considering developing the South African retail market for its products, after observing it is far stronger than it realised, says Wes Brewer, SanDisk's VP, consumer products marketing.
Brewer, who is on his first trip to this country at the invitation of local distributor Tudor Photographic, told ITWeb yesterday that SanDisk, "has neglected the SA and other similar markets in the past. However, we now realise these markets are far stronger than we first thought."
The South African consumer market, with regard to SanDisk's products, is similar to the Australian market in terms of sophistication and demand, according to Brewer.
"We were amazed at how strong demand in this country is, with very little in the way of investment from us. If we achieved x amount of sales, with a little more input we could have increased that by a multiple," he says.
Brewer did not disclose how much or what the value of SanDisk products being sold in SA amounted to.
SanDisk products are sold through 150 000 retail outlets worldwide and can be bought in about 900 local stores, the company says.
SanDisk's five major target market areas, in order of importance are: the mobile phone market, digital photography, the IT/PDA arena, gaming and MP3 players, Brewer says.
While in SA, Brewer is punting U3-enabled smart flash drives. The technology, gives the user an interface that shows what is on the flash card, and leaves no trace after the memory card has been removed. He says a major trend within the flash memory market is that intelligence will become increasingly embedded within the card allowing for greater ease of use and flexibility for the end user.
Brewer will also present the new range of digital camera cards, memory chips for gaming consoles including the Windows 360 and Sony PSP units, various types of portable memory sticks, and its new range of MP3 players. Pricing has still to be determined.
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