Local notebook manufacturer plans to capture 5% of regional market
By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 16 January 2008 2329 hrs
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SINGAPORE: Homegrown notebook manufacturer Axioo plans to capture some 5 percent of the Southeast Asian market by year-end.
Axioo, which launched on Wednesday, said it would compete against established notebook makers by providing better after-sales service, including data protection and recovery.
The nuts and bolts of Axioo's operations will take place entirely in Singapore from manufacturing to marketing.
Axioo said the costs of labour and rental may be relatively higher, but economies of scale make setting up shop here a sensible choice.
Stephen Lim, Managing Director of Axioo International, said: "The other countries have good growth opportunity, but there are also rising costs. We are looking at long-term businesses in Singapore.
"Singapore is a hub for logistics... so it shortens timelines. It saves costs for us. Time to market is very quick, so we see this as an advantage. In any computing industry, time to market is a vital factor to look at."
Demand for notebooks in Southeast Asia is projected to grow by 20 to 30 percent this year. And Axioo wants 5 percent of the regional market by year-end, which translates to revenues of about S$60 million.
It plans to stretch its reach to even more countries by 2010.
Mr Lim said: "We're looking at opportunities in North Asia, South Asia, India, and even across Europe and Latin America. All the countries we've decided to move into are emerging markets.
"There's growth opportunity and demand. We're looking at at least 10 percent market share in 2010 in the international market."
Axioo's initial S$3 million investment will be topped up with another S$7 million in the next few months.
This goes into a regional base, and a research and development facility, which is expected to boost Axioo's holistic sales strategy on its notebooks.
- CNA/so
Source:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/323030/1/.html