InFocus zooms in on end users
Projector vendor InFocus will begin selling direct to European customers in the second half of 2000 when it launches an online store via its UK website which is due to go live in May.
Projector vendor InFocus will begin selling direct to European customers in the second half of 2000 when it launches an online store via its UK website which is due to go live in May.
The vendor has also launched a new projector, the LP335, which it will aim at the home cinema DVD market as well as the traditional business user.
InFocus is going direct to "answer any questions customers have about InFocus products and raise general awareness about the projector market", according to Bill Yavorsky, vice president for worldwide sales and marketing at the company.
He added that he expects about one per cent of the company's EMEA sales to come via the online site within the first year, increasing to four per cent within 18 months.
Tony Bicknell, an advisor at Decision Tree Consulting, said the internet is a significant route to market for projector vendors as they attempt to educate end users about future products. "Manufacturers can do a better job of utilising the web than the channel. A large proportion of the business community still doesn't know a lot about projector technology and what it can do for them. Going to the web is a way to address that ignorance."
The InFocus website will also include a Reseller Resource Centre which will give the channel access to behind-the-scenes, real-time information as well as marketing material, said Yavorsky. In addition, the vendor is rolling out a Business Class reseller programme through distributor Ingram Micro, to educate its channel about projector technology.
The LP335 will be available to specialist InFocus audio/video dealers and PC resellers this month. The new ultra-portable projector weighs 4.8lbs, features digital and analogue connectivity as well as HDTV compatibility, and utilises digital light processing technology. The projector will also attach to the next generation of digital notebooks.
First appeared in Computer Reseller News