By PETER GRIFFIN IT writer
Local PC makers are suffering the effects of a poor retail market and constrained spending on IT by businesses.
The country's largest assembler has restructured to survive and another has gone into liquidation.
Business Computers, a medium-sized firm that specialises in assembling computer systems for businesses,
is winding up after 30 years.
It has 1300 customers and branches in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, where it is headquartered.
Director Keith Maxtone did not return Herald calls. A liquidator's report is pending.
The largest PC assembler, The PC Company, is also facing tough times and has undertaken a second restructure in the past month to counter falling sales.
Last year it was expecting annual revenue to increase to well beyond $60 million, but it has remained flat.
Research company IDC is expected today to make public PC market figures for the first quarter that show the first three months were difficult for PC vendors, especially in the desktop PC market.
PC Company founder Colin Brown said its core market, selling PC bundles to home PC buyers through its outlets and through Farmers, could not be depended on to support the company's future.
"The retail zone has been pretty tough and we've been too much into that space.
"Our sales have continued to go down," he said.
It has closed its stores in Palmerston North and Tauranga, reduced advertising and restructured its computer deals to concentrate on repeat buyers of PCs, who want more choice putting packages together.
Brown said The PC Company was in good shape to trade through its difficulties and build a stronger business selling computers to companies, more so than home users.
"We're sitting here now with a couple of million dollars net equity in our company and we're fine-tuned to go forward," said Brown.
"We owe less money to our suppliers than we've ever owed, less than one month's turnover."
John Dunbar, a director of hardware distributor Ingram Micro, said the company was a small creditor of BCL.
But Dunbar was not concerned about The PC Company, which is one of his larger customers.
"Colin Brown is a survivor, he knows how to weather these downturns," said Dunbar.
He put the hard times in the PC market down to reduced IT budgets and more firms chasing a shrinking market.
Parallel importers were picking up market share with cheaper products.
PC shipments rose 9.4 per cent last year but price cuts meant the market was worth less than in the previous year.
