Viglen to sell Net PCs via Vars to vie with US

Vendor looks to channel in bid to steal a march on rivals in the US as market for Net PCs picks up

UK direct selling PC vendor Viglen is looking to the reseller channel about the possibility of using Vars to sell its n1000 Net PC range, in a bid to rival US hardware manufacturers.

Viglen ? which is to be demerged from parent company Amstrad ? made its debut in the Net PC market this week when it launched its range at Networks 97.

Speaking to PC Dealer last week, Viglen chief executive Bordan Tkachuk said : ?We are already supplying Vars with our conventional PCs as a relatively small part of our business. Now we?ll be looking at opportunities to sell our Net PCs through Vars.?

Tkachuk echoed the observations of others within the industry that the Net PC may well be a bet-hedging exercise, but he remarked that Viglen also had to come up with a version, if only to keep the company from falling behind its competitors.

The n1000 machines will ship in September, with prices starting at #799 for the low-end P166 MMX-based machine with 16Mb Ram and 1.2Gb hard disk.

Viglen also has plans to sell its entire PC range over the Web, following in the footsteps of rival Dell. ?We should have a programme in place by the end of August, in time for Christmas,? said Tkachuk.

On 30 June, the break-up plans for Amstrad will be put to a vote at the company?s AGM, subject to which Viglen will seek flotation on the London Stock Exchange on 4 August.

Tkachuk said: ?The sum of its parts is less than those of its individual units. As a result of the current state of the company Viglen?s share are being undervalued.?