Maxtor adopts broadline strategy for growth

Working on its belief that a flexible product line and a broad strategy are

the way to go, Maxtor has got itself a new mantra `No killer product application

in one area but a broad product line'. Says Stephen Di Franco, VP, Corporate

Marketing, "When distributors and retailers make a choice about the number

of manufacturers they work with, they would ultimately choose a company that has

the broadest line," he asserted at the Maxtor Media conference held in

Singapore.

Franco is of the firm opinion that the industry would continue to consolidate

to the fewest number of suppliers. "Consolidations, mergers and

acquisitions would continue to happen and we would keep our options open,"

he said, maintaining a tight lip over the future plans in this direction. Maxtor

took over Quantum HDD last year to create one of the largest disk drive

companies in the world. In September 2001, the company acquired MMC Technology

Inc, giving the company control over the media used in HDDs.

India is the second largest market for Maxtor in the APac region and it has

to contend with two other existing players -- Samsung and Seagate. Franco

believes that this is a tough market to crack. "The Indian market is very

difficult to understand, but it certainly poses a major challenge before

us," he said. Maxtor has already taken the first step in this direction by

appointing Yogesh Kamath as the sales manager.

The company has begun to make first rapid strides in India by targeting OEMs.

"Service is a major priority here and this is also being driven in

India," Tony Hsu, VP, APac Sales, Maxtor explains. Said Kamath, "We

had earlier targeted A-class cities. We had dealer events in Mumbai, Delhi and

Bangalore and the response was very good. Most of the importers have started

buying material from us. Now we are planning to go to the B-class cities. We

would also be focusing on the high-end products, which are technologically

superior."

NANDA KASABE



SINGAPORE