ConsumerIT - For Europe's High Volume PC Retailers, Distributors & Builders

Gartner thinks PC sales will do better…

Earlier this year Gartner expected a WW PC sales  decline of -12% but now it's only - 2% (285m units in 2009).

WW 80.9m units shipped in 3Q 09, a 0.5% increase from Q3 08.

EMEA showed a double-digit decline in Q3 as PC shipments fell to 26m units, a -10.1% from Q3 2008.

But Europe declined only 4.5% Q-to-Q, an indication of bottoming out of the slump and a modest return to seasonal patterns.

Go Gartner PC Research

Yes, what could be simpler than a sheet that drapes over your keyboard to keep out dust, food, liquid spills and human detritus? Yet, it’s apparently much simpler in concept than in execution.

As a dealer, it’s important not just to sell one keyboard protector...but to addict the customer so he comes back to you for a consistent supply. These protective sheets shouldn’t be as disposable as Kleenex... but once you have one, you can’t live without it. You’ll want one for each computer and you’ll want to replace them every so often. You'll even want to introduce them to friends and family.

Anyone who lives on a computer, including this journalist, ends up amazed at what a garbage magnet a keyboard can be.

Some of us eat and drink in the vicinity and that’s just begging the Geek Gods to punish us with spillage. Some of us are growing old at our keyboards and losing our hair, strand by strand, and that’s just pathetic enough without seeing the evidence snarling under the keys on your PC in front of your very eyes.

And let’s not talk about swine flu and other passable contagions that can come from “guest keyboarding.” Filthier than a toilet seat says the research...a virus hotel where check-in is quick and easy...

Gene Hellar passed away in July in California and I think many of his friends and business acquaintances in Europe may not know.

Below is a link where you can add your thoughts so that his family will know how many friends Gene made in Europe.

Gene Hellar and I go way back...but that's because Gene was an industry pioneer. He was one of the very, very first to bring Silicon Valley's computer products to Europe. He and his partner, Dick Walker, brought some of the first storage products to European distributors. And many European distributors made a lot of money buying from PRIMA INTERNATIONAL in those days.

Perhaps you can remember Gene from his stands on the USA Pavilion back in the early days of CeBIT. Gene had a charm about him, a natural grace and a kind heart. The sort of man that if you had to be stranded on a desert island with another man, this would be about as good as you could get for company.

Gene (left) in a meeting with a Dutch executive at SanDisk HQ

I met Gene when we shared a stage at a conference in USA promoting CeBIT. We became good friends, although we lived thousands of kilometers apart. Whenever I visited Silicon Valley, Gene would take me around and introduce me to other industry pioneers. We had a great time, Gene!

Now a lot of Americans want to tell you they were one of the first to bring computer products from Silicon Valley to Europe, but Gene (and Dick) ran one of the original models for Silicon Valley distributors who began to export across the world.

You'll see some photos of Gene on his memorial website...with his wife, his family...Gene at rest, Gene at play.

I chose to place here a photo of Gene (on the left) at work, in the middle of a meeting at SanDisk. No doubt he was telling a story because Gene had enough experience for several lifetimes. I can still hear his voice... the dignified tones of a gentle, intelligent man you don't want to forget.

Go Share our Thoughts on Gene Hellar

MAKING A "DENT" in DISTRIBUTION

Reading the book, Distribution Channels by Julian Dent, even an experienced Channel Manager begins to systematize, integrate and mesh together their own pieces of personal experience for a better understanding of channel dynamics.

For a subject as important to many thousands of distributors and suppliers, little has been written down about the balancing act known as “distribution”.