Company profile: PSA Parts

Where, when and by whom was PSA Parts founded?

PSA Parts was formed over 22 years ago by our chairman John McBrien. The company was run from the front room of his house in Wimbledon, and specialised in the supply of memory backup batteries to the computer maintenance industry in the UK. His son James joined soon after the company’s formation and he is still with PSA as the managing director.

Is the company very different now to how it was then?

Very! PSA now employs over 50 staff and operates out of purpose-built offices and warehousing facilities based close to where the business originally started. We also have offices in France, China and Australia.

Our product range has expanded and evolved to over 12,000 product lines, which include batteries, adaptors and chargers for all applications, with a big focus on mobile devices. We are now strategic partners with Procter and Gamble on the Duracell brand, developing specialist product ranges and supplying key specialist EU accounts.

PSA is also a fully authorised parts distributor for HP and we sell a complete range of spares for printers, desktops and notebooks, as well as supplying electronic components directly to manufacturers.

What would you say is the most successful area of your business?

We have built up, in my opinion, an unrivalled position supplying all sizes of customers from ‘one man bands’ to some of the largest dealers and resellers in the country.

Many of our customers have dealt with us for well over ten years and rely on our large stock holding, quick deliveries and flexible credit facilities.

What do you have to offer retailers over your competitors?

PSA is the sole European licensee for Duracell’s digital camera and camcorder battery packs and chargers. We have a complete offering for retailers of any size, and offer the range at a fraction of the price of the original manufacturer’s product. We are in a unique position with this range and this speaks volumes for the quality of our products. In short, we are a one-stop shop for all your mobile power needs.

What plans do you have for future expansion around the world?

Our relationship with Duracell has enabled us to quickly branch out into new markets. We are currently in the process of opening our South American office and are also focusing heavily on the Nordic regions and Portugal.

To help all areas of the business we will be moving the headquarters to a new purpose-built unit that is over twice the size of our current premises, allowing for continued expansion.

What are your plans for the UK specifically?

We are launching a new range of universal power accessories under our 2-Power range. The ten products will include universal 90W and 48W adaptors for laptops and netbooks. They are supplied with voltage-sensitive tips as opposed to the manually adjusted adaptors, which can damage machines. This particular product is a must for retailers as it answers 90 per cent of their customers’ notebook adaptor demands with a safe, cost-effective product.

In addition to this we are going to continue with our successful expansion in sales of the Duracell digital camera and camcorder batteries, we are also developing new exciting ranges of Duracell-branded products.

Do you think the Christmas buying period will be better for retail than last year?

I hope for the retailers that there is an improvement on last year. With the likes of Best Buy in the mix this Christmas it will be interesting to see how it performs and what impact it has on the other large retailers. Hopefully, sales of our Duracell digital camera batteries in the Best Buy stores will have an impact!

Where do you see the company in five years’ time?

We have a five-year plan that is very ambitious, yet achievable. We are looking at taking our success in the UK and replicating it across all the European countries.

PSA Parts will also continue to develop its relationship with Procter and Gamble on Duracell and further develop the 2-Power battery and adapter range in the retail and trade market.