PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Independent retailers should seize an opportunity in the system building market to compete with bigger firms, VIP Computers has said.
As leading desktop PC vendors expand to offer products such as tablets and wearable devices, indies can instead start offering custom-built computers to attract more consumers.
They can offer dedicated support and specific designs the larger firms may be lacking, argued Duncan McAuley, director of distributor VIP Computers.
He told PCR: “As the bigger PC manufacturers are leaving to focus on other growth areas, it has handed opportunities to local system builders who, due to their smaller size, can be more flexible in terms of meeting customer demand and are less reliant on shifting larger quantities.”
There has been a growing consumer desire for PC gaming – despite an overall decline in desktops.
Jonathan Carter, owner of system builder FiercePC, said: “The system building market is gaining in strength when it comes to gaming.
“Sales of any other kind of PC are dwindling unless it’s for gaming.”
David Scott, production manager at Cyberpower, added that custom-built systems provide a great opportunity for retail mark-up, with creative professionals and gamers often willing to pay above-average prices for support and computers built to their precise specification.
“Customers know what level of performance they require regardless of price,” he said.
