Resellers in school daze

Consumers are getting mixed grades as the peak of this year’s vital back-to-school market prepares to start.

For Paul Girard, president and CEO of B.C. white box builder Seanix Technology Inc., the season to date has been a bust.

“”We were expecting at least the same level of business as

last year, but that has not happened,”” he said. “”It’s down at least 20 per cent.””

Meanwhile Dragoslav Minic, marketing spokesman for competitor MDG Comp-uters, says sales of PCs and notebooks at the company’s 30 stores are bouyant.

“”Looks like we hit the jackpot with pricing,”” he said.

Joining the cheerleading squad is John Steward, vice-president of sales at Targus Canada.

Everyone in the retail IT industry is crossing their fingers because next to the December holiday period this is the biggest selling time of the year.

Evans Research expects Canadian PC sales to consumers and corporations (including servers) will be down 12 per cent this quarter compared to the same period last year. But analyst Michelle Warren said resellers will see better business than the first half of this year.

“”We expect a surge in notebook activity in Q3 with the back-to-school (market) and systems going into the home,”” she said.

Major vendors are in a slugfest with system builders. IBM Canada, for example, is offering a Celeron system for $379 — if it’s purchased with a $150 three-year on-site warranty. Hewlett-Packard Canada is offering rebates of up to US$75 on selected PC, digital camera and printer bundles, while Sony of Canada is offering rebates on selected VAIO PCs and notebooks.

They face local system builders like Summit Direct, which has six stores in southern Ontario and reports overall sales are up 10 to 15 per cent from last year. Its hot seller is a $1,099 PC with an all-in-one printer.

Still, industry members are cautious. “”The beginning of back-to-school seems to be coming later every year,”” said Tim Billings, Ingram Micro Canada’s senior director of sales for direct and consumer markets. Shoppers, he said, “”are not flocking to the first deal they see.””

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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Howard Solomon
Howard Solomon
Currently a freelance writer, I'm the former editor of ITWorldCanada.com and Computing Canada. An IT journalist since 1997, I've written for several of ITWC's sister publications including ITBusiness.ca and Computer Dealer News. Before that I was a staff reporter at the Calgary Herald and the Brampton (Ont.) Daily Times. I can be reached at hsolomon [@] soloreporter.com

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