Leading components distributor Asbis, founded in 2004 by IT veterans Peter Blaauw and Wade Calenborne, has decided to scale down its business.
In a memo to customers, the company says that components distribution has become highly overtraded in the South African channel and that it is refocusing its business. In light of this, Asbis will relinquish the supply and support of certain product lines such as Seagate, Intel, Acer, LG, Samsung and Asus, but will continue with brands such as Prestigio and Canyon.
In the statement to customers, Asbis management says: “After much deliberation by both management and staff, Asbis Africa (Pty) Ltd, has taken the decision to refocus its business activities.
“The local IT components distribution business has become overtraded in an already shrinking integration environment. As such, we have taken the decision to remove the majority of the PC hardware components from our portfolio.
“Asbis Africa will, however, continue to focus on the distribution success of our mobile and plug and play devices from our vendors: Prestigio and Canyon. This includes the Prestigio range of tablets, phones and the associated accessories as well as Canyon’s very popular consumer lifestyle products.
“We will be winding down the sale of our discontinued lines through the month of October at reduced prices on a first come first served basis.
“The warranty support for products purchased from Asbis Africa will transfer to those companies who continue to distribute the same products. The contact details for these companies can be found listed below.
“Asbis Africa thanks you for your support over the last nine years and looks forward to working with you as we focus on our new direction.”
According to the memo, Seagate support will be taken over by Rectron, Intel by Intel SA, Acer by Acer Africa, LG by Annex, Samsung by AxizWorkgroup and Asus by the local Asus repair centre.
It is not yet known how staff within Asbis will be redeployed.
Pictured left is Wade Calenborne, one of the founders of Asbis.