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Eastern European memory supplier and RAM vendor GoodRAM is seeking distributors to help it break into the UK market.
Parent company Wilk Elektronik started out as a memory distributor in Poland 25 years ago before launching its own brand GoodRAM in 2003. It now has more than 40 per cent market share in Poland with the GoodRAM memory modules and also sells into neighboring countries Ukraine, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, Romania and more.
It now has Germany, Austria and the UK in its sights with its own DRAM and SSD products.
"We decided to enter the UK market because we see the offering from major players, like Samsung and Hynix, is limited," GoodRAM CEO Wieslaw Wilk told PCR. "So there is a space open for us. The likes of Samsung and Hynix aren’t interested [in PCs] anymore because the PC market is a shrinking market – so they are looking at mobile DRAM for smartphones and tablets, and the PC market is not increasing for them.
"But in all the countries within Europe the PC market still exists – there are companies who don’t want a laptop or tablet and they need the PC. And we’d like to sell to these kind of customers in the UK.
"And we are also looking for so-called industrial customers in the UK. We are already serving these kind of customers in Germany – that means our memory modules go into industrial computers working in planes and trains."
Wilk added what he is looking for in a UK distributor.
"I’m looking for a distributor who can deliver the GoodRAM product to the end customer," he said. "We’re looking for a partner who has the knowledge of memory and a good reputation in the market.
"UK distributors should be aware of our SSD which we’re developing very fast. We are trying to be competitive with the main players like Kingston, Crucial and Samsung. We recently launched three new models which are winning most of the tests in the region and are selling very well.
"I also think we’re attractive to UK resellers because we don’t want to sell everywhere and to everybody. We want to pick up some dedicated distributors who will go to dedicated resellers. We’d like to create a margin for the reseller.
"We will not be flooding the UK market with DRAM or SSD, so with our products the reseller can differentiate themselves from other resellers who is selling Samsung or other mainstream products. Mainstream products you can get everywhere and that’s why reseller margins are very limited.
Wilk commented: "We aren’t the cheapest in the market and we don’t want to be. We have manufacturing in Europe which means we deliver very good quality. If you compare us to other brands higher than the Kingston level, that’s our advantage because the memory module market has shrunk a lot. And right now this market is only for specialists who need good quality products.
"This time next year we would like to have stable sales in UK already. We’d like to have at least two distributors who have established a sales channel."
Wilk said that 2013 was a record year for GoodRAM as it reached almost $130 million in revenue.
Contact: Darek Nagly
+48 510 470 370
www.goodram.com
