The establishment of this division comes off the back of Tarsus's commitment to provide for SME and consumer-orientated customers in the SA market, the company says.

Says Martin Venter, Tarsus retail business unit manager: "Tarsus has eased itself into the retail sector, setting up key agreements with retailers in the local market and has therefore approached those retailers that have complementary business models to ours as a starting point. From here we plan to substantially increase our reach."

In the short time the division has been running it has managed to garner the business of some 30 retailers, with a total of 150 stores across the country, he adds.

"We have had an awesome response to the range of notebooks, desktop PCs, printers, scanners, MFPs, projectors and monitors in the Tarsus portfolio, with brands like Acer, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Samsung and the Peak brand of accessories like Flash Memory starting to gain good mindshare," he says.

Venter explains that although much of Tarsus's traditional product portfolio is now destined for the retail sector, the consumer market is a very different animal to the traditional technology reseller space that Tarsus is used to.

"The retail market is extremely price-sensitive and relies on access to the latest and greatest in every brand's set of offerings. Retailers also treat their ordering in a much more scientific manner," he says, "gauging demand based on historic performance and careful predictions of the changes new technologies and solutions will effect in the market.

"While the margins are often much lower," he admits, "we feel that there are substantial growth opportunities for Tarsus in the retail market."

Tarsus is so optimistic that its retail division will reap great returns on investment, that it is bringing the Pavilion range of HP notebooks to the SA market.