The Notebook Company’s April Fool’s joke backfires

Pretoria: 4 April 2016-04-04

On Friday, 1 April 2016 The Notebook Company CEO, Christopher Riley, informed all its local suppliers that the company has been placed in voluntary liquidation since it is not able to pay its local suppliers. It was also mentioned that the company will do everything in his power to pay the suppliers what is owed.

Riley stated in the statement that, with immediate effect, at 13h00 on Friday 1 April, all the notebook company accounts were closed, and locked. Deliveries to their clients, and warehouses were stopped. Their own drivers were not able to have stock released to them. All came to a halt.

Today, Monday 4 April 2016 at 8:00am, all suppliers were informed that it was an April Fool day's Joke. At this point most clients replied with OMW, LOL, or Got US

But then, said Riley, there were a few nasty surprises:

“Unfortunately your terms were revoked due to the email sent to us. Information was already sent to our insuring company CGIC.”

Another: "We have undergone legal costs already, and we will be charging it to your account - This is funny, But was not funny on Friday.

But, at the end of the day, it looks like this April fool’s day Joke turned bad on The Notebook Company.

In response, Riley said: “We hope all will be restored to normal at 11:00am Monday morning.
One can say it might have been in bad taste, but it could also be a good proactive run for suppliers, as this year is going to be a tough one, and if companies are going to fail, it will be this year.
No deliveries and supplies to clients were affected.
Apologies to our Local South African suppliers.”

Price drives SA laptop rentals Rent-a-laptop.co.za

Increasing price pressure on laptops have resulted in more people delaying purchases or resorting to renting PCs, says a retailer.

“We, at The Notebook Company, are seeing pressure on our laptop sales. Tablet sales are also under increasing strain from the bigger format smartphones and from phablets, which are fast growing market share. But we are picking up the slack with laptop rentals,” said Christopher Riley, chief executive of The Notebook Company.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), currency fluctuations and lower resources prices are factors that have negatively impacted on laptop prices in Africa.

“Currency fluctuations both inside and outside the MEA region will remain largely responsible for the slower demand, particularly in key markets such as Turkey and Nigeria,” said Fouad Charakla, research manager for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.

Laptop rentals now make up a significant percentage of turnover at The Notebook Company.

Rand weakness

“More and more companies are currently turning to rentals, with some bigger companies renting hundreds of laptops for certain periods. Rentals now account for 15% of our turnover, which has wiped out the dip in the sale of laptops,” Riley said.

IDC data showed that PCs declined by 25.6%, with notebooks suffering a 28.6% drop to 1.9 million units in the Middle East and Africa region.

The weakness of the rand, which has driven up laptop prices, has contributed to softening sales.

“Right now, with the continued weakness of the rand, I do not see an upside. It is going to hurt consumers and they may cut back on buying, which will hurt the local market,” said Riley.

What would you pay for an Apple Watch?

How much would you be willing to pay for an Apple Smart watch? Would you pay R10 750 or R13 000? That is exactly what a South African paid for an aluminium and stainless steel piece respectively recently.

Offered on bidorbuy.co.za with a price tag of R9 000 and R11 000, the proud South African willingly paid for the exclusivity of owning the two brand new watches.

While the watch is set to take the world by storm,  there are some “dilemmas” with the gadgets and wearing them may not be as straight forward as some imagined. It appears as if a number of people’s high acidity levels have caused unwelcome skin reactions.

Apple’s website, although admitting to some problems, was also quick to point out that the device has been examined by certified dermatologists and users may be wearing it wrong.

In addition, apparently, some heart rate readings of tattooed consumers could potentially affect and play havoc with the smart watch’s mechanism, and social media sites were quick to pick up on the case with the hashtag #tattoogate as many frustrated consumers vented their annoyance.

Despite these hiccups, South Africans may overlook first generation flaws and purchase the device regardless.

“Apple loyalists are naturally going to love the smart watch. The watch’s release again represents a chance for Apple to change the world, again, with an industry-defining product,” said Christopher Riley, CEO of The Notebook Company.

The watch, not yet released in South Africa, has no local price tag or forthcoming launch date as yet. You can find the two bidorbuy listings here and here.

Tablet users to top 1bn this year

While the tablet market is cooling off from its highs of the past four years, more than 1-billion people worldwide will use a tablet in 2015.This is the word from Christopher Riley, CEO of The Notebook Company, who says: “While tablet sales accounted for more than half of The Notebook Company’s turnover from 2011-2013, we are now focusing on the sale of laptops – and we expect tablet sales to drop to around 10% of our sales during 2015.”

According to new figures from eMarketer, the 1-billion figure represents nearly 15% of the global population and more than double the number three years ago. By 2018, the number of tablet users in the world will reach 1,43-billion.

One of the key points raised by eMarketer is that the growth in the number of global tablet users will slow dramatically in 2015 – and continue to “taper off”. The total number of tablet users is expected to increase by 17.1% this year.

While this figure is still relatively robust, it is a long way behind year-over-year gains of 54,1% in 2013 and 29,1% in 2014. By 2018, the growth rate for new tablet users worldwide is expected to be just 7,9%.

Riley says that, during 2011 to 2013, tablet sales outstripped laptop sales at The Notebook Company. “We became one of the largest sellers of Apple iPads in SA during this period – as there was a strong demand from our users, something which was exacerbated by a shortage of stock. But our focus has now shifted back to the sale of laptops.”

He says the company is expecting an increase of 10% to 15% in laptop sales for the 2015 calendar year, compared to last year.

Paperless education ‘unlikely to succeed’

Paperless education ‘unlikely to succeed’

The Gauteng Education department’s plan to introduce a paperless education programme is ill-conceived, as there will simply not be enough funds to provide each pupil with a tablet or a laptop, says Christopher Riley, CEO of The Notebook Company.

Riley’s comments follow yesterday’s statement from Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, who said a number of schools in Tembisa are set to pilot a paperless education programme. 
He said the school would receive state-of-the-art Internet connections at no expense to government. The schools were also supplied with tablets and training to conduct lessons online.

“It is noble attempt, but I just don’t see how the government can afford all the tablets. Most students’ parents will certainly not be able to pay for tablets or laptops,” says Riley.

All text books are available online but, again, students need to own a laptop or tablet – as well as have an Internet connection – to access them.

“Introducing a paperless education system would certainly help to end the embarrassing non-delivery of school textbooks which have been plaguing the country for some time now. But it remains an unobtainable goal simply due to the cost of implementation. This could be summed up as a case of covering the problem of textbook delivery, rather than finding a solution,” he adds.

SA to buck global tablet sales trend

While tablet sales were roaring during 2013, there are some market analysts, including IDC Corporation, which expect sales to drop significantly during 2014. South Africa could buck the trend, however.
At least one local notebook and tablet retailer, The Notebook Company, has said that local sales should improve “slightly”.

Christopher Riley, CEO of The Notebook Company, comments: “In a recent announcement, the IDC has stated that tablet sales will halve during 2014. Personally I just don’t see this happening – certainly not in South Africa, and certainly not at The Notebook Company.”
Riley says he expected his company’s tablet sales to increase by high single digits, “or possibly by double digits”.

‘We are fairly bullish about sales for this year. We are starting to leave the fumes of the global financial meltdown behind us – and I believe that, in itself, will play a part in more buoyant sales figures. Even if, globally, we see an increase in tablet sales during 2014, we are still seeing a growing market. It might be that it is just hard to emulate the sales during 2013, which were pretty good.”

According to the IDC, tablet sales reached 221-million units in 2013, up 54% on the previous year. But it said that this year’s sales will drop by as much as 22%, taking sales to 271-million units.

IDC also said that, by 2017, tablet sales would have slowed to single digit growth.
One of the reasons given for this decline is that consumers are opting for smartphones over smaller tablets.

Tom Mainelli, research director: tablets at IDC, says: “In the US, where tablets have been shipping in large volumes since 2010 – and are already well established -we’re less concerned about big phones cannibalising shipments and more worried about market saturation.”
It is further felt that, while consumer preferences have tended towards small tablets over the past 24 months, the rise of large phones could push consumers back towards larger tablets.

“The difference between a 6 inch smartphone and a 7-inch tablet isn’t great enough to warrant purchasing both,” Mainelli says.

But Riley insists that tablet sales will increase in South Africa during 2014 – and might even breach the double-digit mark. “We saw an increase in tablet and notebook sales in the last two quarters and we are expecting further sales growth during the next two quarters … we certainly see room for continued growth.”

BEAM ME UP SCOTTY

Picture courtesy of Google

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BEAM ME UP SCOTTY

PC companies like Dell  need to do some serious morphing and think of the PC as more of a hybrid, because the PC of 2030 –and beyond – will be a computer, a personal assistant, microphone, and  an ear piece, which will talk to a “virtual computer  in the cloud”.

This is according to Christopher Riley,CEO of The Notebook Company, the Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer. “Ultimately, “he said, “is that users will have access their own virtual PC in the cloud.”

He said the user would access, and store, everything in the cloud – including diary schedules. “Right now the PC already equates to a PC, a laptop and a smartphone. The blurring of the lines will get more and more blurred- and increasingly rapidly,” he said.

If a user wants to access his diary to check his meeting schedule for the day he will verbally engage with his “PC” and ask:”Susan, what is my diary schedule for the day?”. Then Susan, or Sue, or whatever the user wants to use as a nickname,  the virtual PC in the cloud will reply.

“Susan,  Sue, or Siri, will be like an artificial intelligent assistant (AIA)- and this is looking more and more like the future PC.  This scenario,”said Riley, “is also not that far off”.

“Maybe we should call our AIA Scotty, like Scotty from that iconic science fiction movie from the 1970s, STAR TREK? And say: ‘beam me up Scotty’ ’’Riley quipped.

Large increase in the prices of laptops and tablets threatening as Rand dives to its weakest level against the dollar in four years

The Rand is at its weakest level against the dollar in four years - and while this might be good news for South Africa’s export and manufacturing industries - this could well play havoc with prices in the computer industry, with at least one laptop retailer, The Notebook Company, saying that prices of laptops and tablets are likely to rise by 10%.

The Rand has pressed through the physiological R10 to the dollar exchange rate for the first time in four years, sparking fears that technology companies sourcing their products in dollars would have to institute increases.

“With the weakness of the Rand, we can no longer absorb our higher dollar-based costs. We will have to start increasing prices, immediately, and the price increases could be as much as 10%,” said Christopher Riley, CEO of  Pretoria-based laptop and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company.

“We have been trying to absorb the currency hits, but this is no longer possible,” he said.

He said Apple iPads account for a high percentage of sales at The Notebook Company, so the need to increase prices by as much as 10% was “not a decision taken lightly”.

It is expected that many technology companies – certainly those who deal  in dollars – are going to have to increase prices, across the board, said Riley.

“Few companies will be able to absorb the weakness of the Rand – and this, too, might not be an overnight thing.”

There might be an increase in laptop sales in Q2- The Notebook Company

The Notebook Company, one of South Africa’s leading retailers of notebooks and accessories, believes there might be an increase in the sale of laptops during the second quarter due to the fact that there will be a “full range of  laptops entering the market, running Windows 8 – which might just create a slight increase in sales”.

This is according to Christopher Riley, MD of The Notebook Company, who said his company is expecting a 20% increase in laptop sales during the second quarter.

“It’s very possible that people were holding back on purchases, not really knowing what to buy before Windows 8 had worked its way into the market – and shown what its performance rating is. Additionally, it is also branded laptop ranges that are entering the market, running Windows 8.  If people were holding onto their Windows 7 machines to see what the market was going to do– to see if Windows 8 got bad reviews or not – they might now be inclined to jump in and go for a new laptop with Windows 8 

“In Fact,” said Riley, “we were, until recently, advising clients to hold any purchases – and to stick to their Windows 7 platform – to see what would happen with Windows 8, so that they could make an informed decision.”

Google’s Android tablets set to overtake Apple iPad says The Notebook Company

The tablet market is arguably one of the most fiercely competitive marketplaces in the world, with a number of the world’s biggest companies fighting for market share. But, while Apple iPad has been the clear leader since the tablet market started in full force in 2010, its lead is about to be eclipsed by Google’s Android devices.

This is according to Christopher Riley, CEO of Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company – and one of South Africa’s leading sellers of Apple iPads.

“We are seeing some pretty distinct market shifts and Apple’s heydays as the hands-down leader in the tablet market seem numbered,” said Riley.

IDC has already reported that shipments of tablets running Google’s Android operating system will surpass Apple this year for the first time. “There are a growing variety of smaller and cheaper Android-driven tablets from Google to Amazon.com, which are really becoming increasingly popular with consumers.  It’s not just the tablet market where Apple seems to be losing traction,” said Riley.  “Samsung, arguably Apple’s biggest rival, is coming to market with a slew of tech-savvy and funky  tablet and iPhone solutions, which are starting to take a bite of Apple’s market.”
Samsung’s fourth generation of its flagship Galaxy is about to hit the market and it is this range of smartphones that knocked Apple off its pedestal as the world’s number one supplier for part of last year.
“There is a lot of market anticipation for the new Samsung Galaxy,” said Riley, “and we could very likely see more inroads this year.”

While Apple might be facing more competition, Riley said he still believes that iPad sales will be the main contributor to The Notebook Company’s total revenue for the year. “For the past two years Apple iPad sales have been our main sales line.

" This is changing and, therefore, we are also offering a wide range of Android devices. We are also suggesting big name brands  when clients are looking at Android devices. We have offered low-end no-name tablets before, but we always warn clients that it is a case of ‘you get what you pay for’” 

In the meanwhile, the shine seems to be coming off Apple, with its share price being the first to show this – losing more than one-third of its value since hitting a high last September.

Microsoft’s Surface tablet will lift the level of competition in the local tablet market – but will it sell much?

Microsoft’s long-awaited – and much-touted – Surface tablet is due to hit South Africa’s shores within the next few months and, while it is expected to lift the already high level of competition in the tablet market, sales are unlikely to be huge, said Christopher Riley, the founder of Pretoria-based notebook and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company, one of the biggest sellers of the Apple iPad.

Riley said Apple is currently facing elevated competition from Android-driven tablet devices – which are generally cheaper than the iPad – as well as from an invigorated Samsung, whose tablet sales have risen meteorically in recent months.

“Apple’s share of the global marketplace has fallen from 51,7% to 43%, while Samsung’s has doubled from 7,3% to 15%. The arrival of Microsoft’s tablet in South Africa isn’t going to make a huge impact. Microsoft has lost too much traction over the last three years and the entrance of the long-awaited Surface is just that – it is long-awaited. It is late – and Microsoft has arguably lost its chance to become a core player in the tablet market.

“It is being touted as a great tablet from a price/performance perspective. Of course, time will tell. But I don’t believe they will be big sellers locally.”

Commenting further, Riley said that while Apple iPad sales still account for the lion’s share of the company’s revenue, sales have dropped in recent months as other tablets become more popular, including the Samsung devices.

The  Microsoft Surface will be available in both Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 RT (run time) versions.