Free your mind, the rest will follow
We have seen the $999 PC, and soon the $999 server will be with us as prices are driven downwards. It is believed that price alone does not secure the sale. If it does, where is the margin opportunity for us all and where does the added value in a sale fit in?
Increasingly, Computer 2000 and its customers seek to add value to a sale. There is now a call for vendors to add value and profit opportunities to what is inherently a non-descript, beige box.
Today, in the Far East, a new and quite innovative piece of kit has emerged, and one which resellers should take note of - the designer PC. I believe the industry has missed a trick here.
The advance of design, ergonomics and aesthetics of the PC is the next phase of the value-added sale. The aspirational sale for the reseller is the value add and profit opportunity of tomorrow.
Japanese industry top CEOs and executives have been demanding something different for their office for some time. So just how do you take a rather boring box and make it into something so desirable that it becomes the centrepiece to the office, a topical discussion piece that denotes seniority, status and success rather than a technological blot on the landscape?
I believe we must bring the styling and design of the PC kicking and screaming into the 21st century. In distribution, we need to recognise market forces, move with the times and build-to-order designer PCs for the home, office or even the executive car.
Some CEOs already have them, many want them, and a whole tier of budding executives will measure their success by what designer label their PC holds.
Mr. Kumonnow, CEO of Ikyduno Industries, one of Japan's largest financial institutions, was reported in last week's issue of PC Dealer - Nippon as saying: 'I wanted something unique. A corporate office is an important symbol of one's position in the hierarchy. I have imported a British Victorian Walnut office desk with handmade brass fittings. It is the only one in the building, if not in corporate Tokyo. I am proud of it and all my guests remark on its character.'
Imagine a fully functional, high- specification PC which would fit seamlessly into this type of environment. Aesthetically pleasing audio and TV systems have been with us for years.
Even the mobile phone industry is beginning to catch on to the individual styling needs of the buying public, so why not have your personal computer modelled as a fashion accessory.
A standard desktop range, featuring teak, walnut, mahogany, oak or beech, styling and the latest monitors with matching hardwood casing will be available in the UK shortly.
Demand for retro-styled PCs with up-to-the-minute technology has taken the Far East by storm.
We envisage the reseller appointing a fully trained design and aesthetics consultant to the customers' premises, be it home or office. He or she will be skilled in interior design and will advise the customer on layout, lighting and the type of system which would best suit the environment.
Future ranges of PCs being shipped include, novelty notebooks, designed to look like executive briefcases, a copy of the Times newspaper, or that late night Chinese takeaway - the varieties are endless.
The realms of design are only limited by our imagination, snakeskin mousemats, real fur mice and walnut keypads are only a few of the requests our vendor has encountered.
The next step? It's already here according to sources. The green PC, something environmentally sound and fully biodegradable is currently being developed. Would you believe a PC that biodegrades to its component elements within three years?
No, nor would I. But then again, I don't believe the date of this publication.
David Clark is marketing director of Computer2000.