Memorex on brink of UK revival

Storage Memtek breathes new life into an old brand as it tries to increase its market share in the UK.

Optical storage vendor Memtek has signed up four distributors, in ancrease its market share in the UK. renewed bid to penetrate the UK corporate and retail markets and revive the Memorex brand.

Memtek, a unit of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison, is pitching its Dysan and Memorex brands of CD recordable and rewritable machines, disks and scanners to resellers, computer assemblers, retail and mail-order outlets.

Clive Riches, Memtek UK sales manager for distribution, said Computer 2000, CMS Computers, Pine Technology and Eurodis On Board have been contracted to provide fulfilment. Four more will be assigned soon.

Computer 2000 will supply retailers, Vars and mail-order resellers, including Action Computer Supplies and Misco. Viking Direct is on the verge of being signed up for Memtek products. CMS will sell to mail-order firms, while Eurodis and Pine will be servicing assemblers and resellers.

Joachim Kurten, Memtek European VP and general manager, said he expected UK distributors to generate between $3 million and $5 million per annum.

'We are targeting $90 million turnover for the 1998 fiscal year and the UK share will contribute around 20 per cent of that,' he said.

Subject to profitability, Memtek will float on the US Stock Exchange within three years.

Memtex recently signed a 50-year licensing agreement with Memorex-Telex, the Dutch systems integrator that underwent a management buyout last year, after a series of financial crises including filing Chapter 11 protection and selling off various operations (PC Dealer, 26 November 1997).