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Sarah Falson

Harvey Norman OFIS Prefers Manaccom

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Harvey Norman’s new OFIS chain of office goods stores, which will eventually go up against Woolworths’ OfficeWorks, has appointed Trend Micro Internet Security manufacturer, Manaccom, as its preferred software supplier when the first of the OFIS stores open in March.

Manaccom is a publicly-listed Australian software publisher, which distinguishes itself within the publishing software industry through “an exceptional product range, accurate reaction to market forces, prioritising customer service management, and a specialist knowledge of the industry obtained over 20 years,” according to the company.

Manaccom’s product range includes popular software titles such as Trend Micro Internet Security, Acronis True Image, Nitro PDF Professional, ZoneAlarm and Net Nanny. Manaccom supplies products to a number of leading retailers throughout Australia and New Zealand such as Harvey Norman, Officeworks, Dick Smith, JB Hi-Fi and hundreds of independent resellers.

Harvey Norman OFIS General Manager Paul English believes Manaccom is one of the few software publishers in Australia with the capability to produce custom software products for the reseller network, enabling innovation in all aspects of production and distribution.

“Manaccom has been a long and trusted supplier to Harvey Norman” English said.

 

“When any new business venture is launched you look to those partners that are going to provide you the necessary support.

“We are very excited to have Manaccom as a preferred supplier to Harvey Norman OFIS and our entire team is looking forward to continuing our strong relationship with Manaccom.”

According to Manaccom CEO James Mackay, a key component of the success sustained by Manaccom during the past decade can be attributed to the relationships it has developed with retailers over the years.

“We recognise that building mutually beneficial relationships is paramount to our business structure and method of operation,” Mackay said.

“We are continually seeking ways to meet the needs of our reseller partners, and are delighted to be supplying the new Harvey Norman OFIS stores”.

Manaccom has been the recipient of the Harvey Norman Software Supplier of The Year since 2005.

HP To Offset Carbon Printer Emissions

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HP is extending its commitment to “environmentally responsible” practices in product design, with the introduction of the new HP Carbon Offset Program for LaserJet Printers, which entitles customers who purchase an HP LaserJet to the insurance that HP is funding projects to offset the carbon emitted by the printer.

Printers eligible for the program must be purchased before 30 April 2008, and the carbon offset funding provided by HP will cover the carbon emitted by the printer throughout its entire life cycle, with the carbon credit value going towards the accredited global warming program, Climate Positive.

Partnering with non-for-profit organisation, Climate Positive, HP has chosen to invest in renewable energy projects and support Climate Positive’s education and engagement. This complements HP’s long standing commitment and overall focus on energy efficiency, including the company’s goal to reduce the combined energy consumption of its operations and products to 20 per cent below 2005 levels by 2010.

“While HP focuses on designing energy efficient products that meet or exceed industry standards and reduce the energy consumption of the products, the next step in minimising HP’s environmental impact is to offset the energy used during the usage phase, which this program sets out to do,” said HP South Pacific environment manager, Annukka Dickens.

“The Carbon Offset Program for LaserJet Printers will assure our business and consumer customers that by buying an HP LaserJet, they have not only purchased a product which has been designed and manufactured to have minimal impact on the environment, to use less energy and to be easily recycled, they have also offset the carbon emitted during the use of the product.”

 

HP launched its Design for Environment (DfE) program in 1992. DfE aims to reduce HP’s environmental impact by addressing every stage of the lifecycle of an HP product – from the design, manufacture, distribution and usage to reuse and recycling.

“HP is a leader and innovator in the design and manufacture of energy-efficient hardware and supplies,” said Dickens. 

“An example is HP Instant-On technology. With Instant-on Technology, HP LaserJet printers are always ready to print, even in powersave mode. This means less energy is used during the printer’s warm up phase, without compromising the speed and quality of print jobs.”

In Australia, HP diverted more than 1.7 million kilograms of IT equipment from Australian landfill through its Asset Recovery Program in 2006 alone. 

Additionally, HP has been working with Planet Ark on the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program, which offers a zero waste to landfill guarantee. Since the program began in 2003 more than 5 million cartridges have been diverted from landfill in Australia.

 

How to claim

1. Purchase any HP LaserJet printer/s between 21 January and 30 April and have the option to offset the carbon emissions produced during the lifetime of the product/s at no additional cost.
2. Visit www.hp.com.au/co2 to download and print claim form.
3. Send completed claim form with proof of purchase to:
Australia
Locked Bag 7507, McMahons Point,
North Sydney, NSW 2060
NZ
P.O. Box 37830, Parnell,
Auckland, New Zealand
4. HP will process claims and purchase carbon credits on behalf of customers. HP is paying administration and management costs separately to ensure that 100 per cent of the carbon credit value goes towards Climate Positive’s global warming programs.
5. Customers will receive a certificate in electronic format and hard copy. The certificate will include the printer serial number/s and will have its own serial number for traceability.
6. Final claims must be received by close of business 16 May 2008 AEST to be eligible for entrance into the promotion.

Further information about HP’s Carbon Credit Program for LaserJet Printers is available from:
The Web: www.hp.com.au/co2

Staff Needed For Ubisoft Singapore Venture

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Ubisoft, which is responsible for Xbox and PS3 games, will open a new development studio in Singapore, bringing the total number of the company’s studios up to 18. More than 300 new staff will be recruited from the area and abroad to man the studio, with a team of Ubisoft ‘veterans’ training the recruits.

The Singapore location was chosen because of the country’s excellent technological infrastructure, says Ubisoft.

Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest games-makers, will open the new studio among the thriving local game development industry, within reach of universities and training institutions.

According to Ubisoft, the Singapore government’s demonstrated willingness to work closely with industry actors and its strong support were also key factors.

“Singapore’s demonstrated interest and support for the video game industry made it a clear choice for Ubisoft’s continued international expansion.  Not only is it capable of ensuring the training and continued development of a highly skilled workforce specialized in interactive digital media, its quality of life and level of industrialization makes it uniquely positioned to attract and retain talent from throughout the region,” said Worldwide Studios at Ubisoft executive director, Christine Burgess-Qu_mard.

 

The studio will open its doors early this summer in the new Singapore Technopark still under construction. This studio builds on the group’s recent reinforced presence in Asia, including the opening of a development and testing studio in Chengdu, China announced last September.

After an initial training period, Ubisoft’s Singapore studio will work closely with other Ubisoft studios on the development of titles for portable and home consoles.

More information on opportunities with the new Singapore studio, as well as its other worldwide studios, is available at Ubisoft’s booth in the Career Pavillion (#525) at this year’s Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, February 18th – 22nd, or by contacting singapore@ubisoft.com.

IT Plan Rakes In Cash For JB Hi-Fi

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JB Hi-Fi has recorded a massive 50 per cent increase in sales in the six months leading up to Christmas 2007 from the same period the year before, with CEO Richard Uechtritz attributing the success to strong buying power and a unique store model that includes a new roll-out of IT and computer products across Australia.

Sales of IT and computers contributed to “a significant category” of the company’s sales, with games, DVDs and visual products including plasmas and LCDs also growing, said Uechtritz.

While the report includes sales for the six months leading up to 31 December, the Christmas period contributed a lot to the company’s success, with Uechtritz calling sales throughout this period “very good”, with “all categories either meeting or exceeding expectations.”

“We are delighted with another great result,” said Uechtritz, after earning 988.5 million in sales compared with $658.9 million the year before.

“Our unique and technology focussed retail model continues to perform strongly.”

JB Hi-Fi began to stock computers and related IT products in mid-2006, with the company announcing an IT-only store in Melbourne to partner with the retailer’s main Melbourne consumer electronics store on Elizabeth Street.

JB Hi-Fi also successfully rlled-out mobile telecommunications-based stores throughout the period in Victoria, Queensland and New Zealand, with more stores of the ilk coming by April this year.

Food Prices Gouging Retailers, ACCC

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Food prices have risen “dramatically” in the past few years compared with prices in other developed countries, according to a grocery report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which doesn’t bode well for electrical retailers who are trying to get the get the best they can from consumers who are constantly weighed down with rising mortage rates, petrol prices and housing costs.

The ACCC said the new ‘review’ will investigate all aspects of the industry from the grocery checkout to the farmgate trail, in a bid to identify why prices have risen so dramatically.

The inquiry follows a request from the Rudd government to identify “highly concentrated” food industry was large enough to sustain a third supermarket chain of a similar size to Coles and Woolworths, according to a report from the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

“Central to the inquiry is whether the two major supermarket chains are able, by virtue of their dominance, to keep their payments to suppliers low while increasing the price for consumers and shutting out smaller competitors,” said the AFR.

The inquiry will look at the structure of the industry, and the difference in buying power of smaller and larger retailers.

According to the ACCC, food prices have jumped nearly 12 per cent between September 2005 and last year, which is double the consumer price index rise of 5.9 per cent during that period.

JB Hi-Fi Expects $1.8 Billion This Year

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Winning electronics retailer, JB Hi-Fi, says it expects to better its sales result for the 2007 financial year, which reached an incredible $1.7 billion, with the company forecasting $1.8 billion and net profit after tax of up to $60 million.

While analysts have forecast profits of $57 million for the period, JB Hi-Fi chief executive officer, Richard Uechtritz, is confident that after seven years of back to back growth, the company will again come up trumps.

“We expect the full [2008] financial year NPAT to be between $57 – $60 million, a 41% to 49% increase on the prior year,” he said in a notice to shareholders today.

Australia’s third largest retailer which is beaten only by supermarket chain Woolworths and consumer electronics giant Harvey Norman, today announced sales increased 50 per cent for the half-year ended 31 December 2007, compared with the corresponding previous period.

Uechtritz also speculated on the consumer electronics retailing market as a whole, saying that in the next 12 months he expects the market to continue to consolidate, with the “big getting bigger.”

This is certainly the case for JB Hi-Fi, which plans to open at least five new outlets around the country this year, after adding 12 new stores in Australia in the second half of last year, bringing the total stores to almost 110.

“We are delighted with another great result. Our unique and technology focused retail model continues to perform strongly. We should continue to benefit from strong comparable sales, maturing of recently opened stores, many new store opportunities, a lower cost of doing business and better buying power,” said Uechtritz.