PC Retail

The first couple of months in 2009 saw a massive decline in consumer spending, with around 50 per cent of retailers reporting a fall in profits. These woes are nothing new to the business-to-business sector, which was reporting a sharp drop off in revenue during the latter half of last year.

Research group GfK has reported a steady decline in business software spending and the layoffs made by the hardware giants suggest that market is going the same way. In such a climate, it is essential for resellers to find margins where they can.

"In the current market climate, profit can often seem hard to come by," says VIP product manager, Mark Lynch. "However with PC peripherals there is the perfect opportunity for that add-on sale, generating extra revenue, but more importantly extra margin. VIP strives to help its customers find extra opportunities that will help them grow their own business."

In a situation like this, where business spending is reduced for whatever reason, resellers cannot afford to simply stock high volumes of generic products. This situation creates an opening for smaller volumes of niche products that can be tailored to the needs of a customer.

"Specifications are improving, but prices are falling," comments Midwich's print and imaging manager Jonathon Francis. "For example, in the desktop display market, price is the lowest common denominator. The bottom of the market is extremely competitive and margins are poor, so we encourage our customers to focus on larger widescreen displays with unique selling points or niche features."


Cardscan Executive v8
Widget
SRP: £195.73
Cardscan remains one of the most versatile and accurate business card readers available, with more than a decade of software development under its belt. It's a handy peripheral for anyone that struggles to find the time to put all their new business cards into an address book. And with a Mac compatible version on the way, Apple users will soon be able to experience the benefits too.

Speedlink Wireless Presenter Mouse
Meroncourt
SRP: £39.99
Speedlink's latest business mouse has been designed for those who do a lot of presentations through their computer. In addition to being a conventional mouse, Speedlink's Wireless Presenter incorporates a professional presenter tool that enables the user to control presentations with extra flexibility. Furthermore, the integrated laser removes the need for a seperate pointer device.

Orbita Freestyle Mouse
Interactive Ideas
SRP: £92.99
The Orbita is a different take on the mouse concept. It works on any mouse pad just like a normal pointer, except that users can spin it and use it at any angle. A small white arrow button controls orientation – pressing this button while the arrow points forwards on your desktop sets that as the 'up' direction for pointer movement on screen no matter how the mouse is rotated.

Microsoft ARC Mouse
GEM
SRP: £49.99
The new ARC mouse introduces new levels of portability with its foldable design, allowing it to fold up to 40 per cent of its normal size. The ARC has a wireless range of up to 30 feet, has four buttons, laser tracking, as well as a micro-transceiver that snaps into the bottom of the mouse.

Logitech Alto Business Notebook Stand with Keyboard
VIP
SRP: £70.73
This notebook stand works with virtually any model. Its full-sized keyboard enables faster, more comfortable typing, and one-touch hot keys provide instant access to nominated favourite applications. A soft palm rest for wrist support and a display raiser for optimum positioning of the screen are also included.

Western Digital Scorpio Blue
Ingram Micro
SRP: £299
WD Scorpio Blue 5400 RPM 2.5-inch SATA and EIDE hard drives from Western Digital are designed to offer strong performance with power consumption. Available in capacities from 160GB to 500GB, these drives feature a 3Gb/s SATA interface and 8MB cache.

Trust 10 Port USB 2.0 Desktop Hub
Interactive Ideas
SRP: £28.99
This high speed USB 2.0 hub for desktop PCs creates ten USB ports within handsreach for fast connection of an iPod, memory stick, camera or other USB compatible device. The three ports on the back help to reduce cable clutter across the desk, while the device includes a wall power adapter to ensure stable operation of connected devices. It is compatible with both high speed USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 devices.

Sweex Notebook Cooling Station
Spire
SRP: £22.31
Powered independently of the laptop, the Sweex Notebook Cooling Station features an adjustable platform with five preset positions and a series of three 60mm fans, all of which can be adjusted. This item also carries a four-port USB hub.

Fellowes PS-68CT
Westcoast
SRP: £251.97
This deskside shredder is intended for use by up to three people. Its blades are strong enough to cut through paper clips, staples and credit cards, and the turbo jam release function tears through paper overloads. The unit is covered by a two year full warranty with a five year warranty for the cutting mechanism.

Gem: 01279 822 822
Ingram Micro: 0870 405 3000
Interactive Ideas: 0208 805 1000
Meroncourt: 01462 680 060
Midwich: 01379 649 200
Spire: 0870 750 5100
VIP: 0871 622 7500
Westcoast: 0118 912 6000
Widget: 0870 755 3300