PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Yesterday 250 technology retailers and resellers from across the UK visited PCR Boot Camp with the goal of learning, networking, seeing new products and improving business.
While there may be stories in the news about retail store closures and PC sales dipping, speakers at the morning conference at The Brewery, London showed there are still plenty of opportunities for savvy dealers. Meanwhile vendors during the exhibition showcased the new products that could be the key to industry’s future.
After a welcome speech by Microsoft’s OEM distribution and reseller sales manager Nicola Young, Linkdex’s John Straw took the stage to explain how to get to the top of Google Search, boosting sales.
Digital expert Peter McCormack gave the audience vital insights into the online world during his talk titled ‘There is more to digital marketing than Facebook and Twitter’.
The first panel session of the day discussed the topic of engaging with customers before they enter the store and featured Craig Hume from Utopia, Susanne Dansey of Purple Cow, Derek Jones from Synaxon and Vaughan Shayler from CompTIA, while James Binns of Network N stood as chair.
GfK’s Nigel Catlow took to stage with a talk entitled ‘Connect with growth in tech durables’, in which he spoke about the growing popularity of smart devices – showing that while the desktop may no longer be a big seller, there are plenty of products to take its place.
The second panel session focused on maximising sales in-store. Chaired by Dave Stevinson, GNR, the panel comprised: Jat Mann, PC PAL; Angela English, Westcoast; Craig Phillipson from Shopworks; Stephen Mader, Kantar Retail.
Stephen Robertson rounded off the conference with a keynote speech focused on the retail state of the nation, in which he examined how consumer spending had changed over the years.
After the morning conference, the afternoon expo was packed with retailers and resellers keen to see the latest products from tablets to accessories, software to speakers. Break-out and training sessions also ran alongside the expo.
Here’s what some of the attendees and vendors had to say about this year’s event:
Mark Hoole from Synaxon said: “Today has been absolutely fantastic. We’ve had a great response to Synaxon today with lots of people interested in the services we provide. We couldn’t be happier with the turn out.”
Ben Jones from Hama commented: “It’s been a fast-paced action-packed day with plenty of variety in the people we’ve talked to. It’s been a fun!”
David Offer from Plantronics noted: “It’s been great this year, this is a good event for networking and it’s good to see what the resellers are doing. It’s been a really engaging day.”
Gareth Thomas, managing director for Otone said: “We’ve found the day really, really busy, we’ve had so many people visit the stand, which is great!”
Neil Crosby from JP Distribution commented: “It’s been a very busy day and well worth coming along to.”
Martin Kent from Hannspree noted: “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of people gravitating towards our stand today. It’s been really good and really positive.”
https://twitter.com/tkearns01/status/339855914318323713
What a great day at #PCRBootCamp a whirlwind if people and advice! #awesome
— Utopia (@UtopiaComputers) May 29, 2013
Had a great time at #pcrbootcamp met some good people and missed my coach. @PCRBootCamp thanks to @pcr_online
— Fun Vision (@Fun_Vision) May 30, 2013
@pcr_online @PCRBootCamp has been an excellent day. Tired but totally worth it. #Pcrbootcamp
— ICT Connect (@ictconnect) May 29, 2013
