Carrera re-routes to a nationwide market

London company Carrera Technology will aggressively target the channel by recruiting more resellers, in addition to expanding its retail operation.

The five-year-old company's turnover has reached #15.5 million for its last year through its operation as a vendor, retailer and reseller. But Carrera is looking to grow its retail operation to national coverage by partnering with a key retail player.

Neil Simpkin, marketing manager at Carrera, confirmed talks were taking place and commented: 'Traditionally, we went through mail order and retail - our showroom and partner Hughes TV, which has about 60 stores in the east of England, has done well. But we are now looking to expand the retail coverage to national.'

He added the company had a strong base with mail-order and corporate catalogues because of its flexibility on price and technology. But, Simpkin conceded: 'There is only a finite amount of business you can get from x number of pages in y number of magazines. A rapidly growing company needs to expand through the channel.'

But the move has raised concerns for Carrera. Channel conflict was one area Simpkin identified as a potential worry due to the company's many routes to market.

Clive Vaughan, analyst at Verdict, pointed out that services and support would be an issue for a company with such aspirations. However, Carrera was following in the footsteps of other success stories. 'Tiny and Time have had an impact in the retail market and there will be others emerging to challenge Dixons' traditional dominance,' he said.