Esquire taking on the big guns (and winning)
Esquire Technologies expects a slight slowdown in growth in 2012 – this, on the back of the current economic situation; the ongoing hard disk drives shortages; and a weaker Rand. This is according to Esquire MD, Mahomed Cassim.
Esquire Technologies may not be a household name in South Africa, but you may well be using one of the products imported by the company. Esquire has grown from a small operation – started in June 1999, and run from a house in Centurion – to one of the largest technology distributors in South Africa.
The company currently carries a wide range of products, which is done via a number of focused divisions within the group – such as computing equipment; digital lifestyle and gaming; CCTV and security; point of sale; and networking.
Big plans for 2012
This year, Esquire Technologies plans to further extend its product range with some of Europe and the US’s most popular tech brands.
“Esquire is currently in talks at different levels, and is finalising a number of contractual distribution agreements with some new exciting new vendors such as OCZ technology,” said Cassim.
“Some of these vendors’ products are extremely popular in countries such as Europe and US, but have no – or very little – presence in South Africa.”
The company currently employs around 220 people, and has successfully taken on big names like Rectron, Sahara and Mustek.
“From 1999 up until 2010, we saw a growth of almost 30% year-on-year – with the exception of 2011, where we saw a growth of only 18%. But this was due to the fact that the average selling price of goods came down, due to stronger competition from competing vendors; a stronger Rand; and due to price drops in most of our products,” said Cassim.
Cassim is confident that the new vendor products will have a huge impact on their revenue going forward. Cassim added that their resellers will also benefit, as they will be on par with their international counterparts when it comes to product ranges.
From an expansion side of the business, the company is looking to expand its reach into the Free State Province as well as Mozambique.
“We have plans for a branch office in Mozambique; as well expanding our Durban and Port Elizabeth offices, as we have seen a huge growth in those regions over the last two years,” said Cassim.
Esquire is also busy finalizing the last part of phase two at its Midrand offices. “We are expanding our Xpress Shop from its current 1500 square meters to 4500 square meters,” concluded Cassim.
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