The world of technology has always been a tumultuous one with the unmatched speed in new tech and the unparalleled pace at which the entire industry can shift.
Over the past few years this rocky ground has been made all the more difficult to navigate as continued loadshedding and the pandemic both hit South Africa hard. While a vaccine for COVID-19 now exists and it seems loadshedding has been slightly abated, the effects of these problems still loom over the country, as do unfavourable economic conditions.
Weathering all of this and coming out stronger than ever is Syntech, a leading technology distribution company that not only handles big name international brands like Intel, MSI, LG and more, but also brands that Syntech has had a key in bringing to the local market and turning into everyday names.
GIZZU, Redragon, and Winx are just some brands that were unknown locally until recently when Syntech brought them into the country and helped promote their unique mix of features – and competitive pricing – which made them perfect for local consumers.
We recently sat down with two key members of Syntech to find out what the local tech channel looks like with the pandemic and loadshedding in mind. Those members are Ryan Martyn, Sales & Marketing director and Craig Nowitz, managing director.
It is a complex dance of logistics, shipping, marketing, buying and selling that goes into each and every product before it lands in the hands of the consumer. Along that chain Syntech is involved in most of it.
“We have a strong, established channel that includes dealers, niche retail, brick and mortar, online and more. From the supplier point of view, we are very attractive to overseas companies as they see us supplying to all these channels. When we bring in a brand that may not be known in South Africa, we have an exceptional marketing team that creates strong consumer demand for our products,” says Nowitz.
“We also build very clear growth strategies for the expectations of our vendors and we provide insight into what we are doing. We have live dashboards that update every 15 minutes to see how our sales are going. We’re very transparent and we work closely to build these brands in South Africa,” he adds.
Using this game plan Syntech has continued this brand building over the last few, incredibly difficult years.
But what has changed? Both Martyn and Nowitz tell us that many individuals and companies are, for example, seeking to upgrade tech systems they have in place instead of full replacements. This kind of more cautious buying strategy reflects the current economy and still allows for growth that doesn’t have wasteful expenditure.
In that realm GIZZU is a perfect example. This energy brand offers South Africans many ways to overcome loadshedding, especially with Portable Power Stations that can be bought individually to meet power needs. These can be expanded upon with more Portable Power Stations or standalone batteries.
Unlike home Inverter / solar systems (or even large generators) which required a huge upfront cost for components and labour in installation, GIZZU offers a piecemeal solution that better suits what South Africans want.
Martyn also sees this attitude in other areas, such as the PC gaming segment. You may remember that Syntech launched the powerful PCBuilder platform that allows local gamers to get the most guidance towards upgrading their systems or replacing them entirely.
“The reception to PCBuilder has been great. We’ve been overwhelmed by the demand from the market. We’re gearing up even more assembly infrastructure and we’re expecting the brand to go from strength to strength,” he tells us.
Martyn adds that customers are more conservative with their spending, that doesn’t mean there is less spending, only that it is moving from segment to segment. Tracking this spending to offer businesses and companies exactly what they want, when they want it, is exactly what Syntech does even through the new challenges outside of the fast paced nature of tech.
If you want to join Syntech in its successes before, during and after events like loadshedding and the pandemic, then make sure to check out the online reseller application process which is always open and accepting new entries.
