Hardware sector in EU shakeup
The smallest players in the sector are struggling to finance the technical checks that would allow them to acquire the CE certification necessary to place their products on the EU market. Although the tests, which can cost as much as zł.10,000, are not actually mandatory in order for the certificate to be issued, should a company's product fail to meet the technical requirements set by the European Commission, it could face fines upwards of zł.100,000.
However, smaller producers can take comfort from the example of Germany, where a fifth of all computers sold still fail to have the letters 'CE' stamped to them, says Rafał Krysiak, sales director of Poznań-based hardware maker ProData. Many in the industry believe that the authorities would be unwilling to bring to bankruptcy the 6-7,000 domestic producers that control more than two-thirds of the market.
Meanwhile, there is also turmoil at the upper end of the market. Dell, the third largest player, has recently been accused of dumping after it beat Optimus, a Nowy Sącz-based company, to a large deal to supply the Agricultural Restructuring and Modernization Agency (ARiMR). Dell denies the allegation, saying through a spokesperson that its low prices merely reflect its efficient business model. In the 1990s, Dell took the hardware world by storm thanks to it dispensing with expensive storage and assembling computers only after orders had been placed. The firm has also benefited from its direct sales model.
But last week it unveiled its agreement with Techmex, under which the Bielsko-Biała company will market Dell computers to small businesses. In this way the American giant hopes to tap into the fastest-growing segment of the market, which it had previously left entirely to Polish competitors.
The move was hailed in the press as a sensational departure from Dell's global strategy, but the firm dismissed the comments as "cheap sensationalism." Rather than a new strategy, the Techmex deal, it claims, was an attempt to diversify into new revenue streams.
However, smaller producers can take comfort from the example of Germany, where a fifth of all computers sold still fail to have the letters 'CE' stamped to them, says Rafał Krysiak, sales director of Poznań-based hardware maker ProData. Many in the industry believe that the authorities would be unwilling to bring to bankruptcy the 6-7,000 domestic producers that control more than two-thirds of the market.
Meanwhile, there is also turmoil at the upper end of the market. Dell, the third largest player, has recently been accused of dumping after it beat Optimus, a Nowy Sącz-based company, to a large deal to supply the Agricultural Restructuring and Modernization Agency (ARiMR). Dell denies the allegation, saying through a spokesperson that its low prices merely reflect its efficient business model. In the 1990s, Dell took the hardware world by storm thanks to it dispensing with expensive storage and assembling computers only after orders had been placed. The firm has also benefited from its direct sales model.
But last week it unveiled its agreement with Techmex, under which the Bielsko-Biała company will market Dell computers to small businesses. In this way the American giant hopes to tap into the fastest-growing segment of the market, which it had previously left entirely to Polish competitors.
The move was hailed in the press as a sensational departure from Dell's global strategy, but the firm dismissed the comments as "cheap sensationalism." Rather than a new strategy, the Techmex deal, it claims, was an attempt to diversify into new revenue streams.
