Strong dollar, buyer 'discernment' boosts router sales to record

Peter Dinham
Monday, 18 January 2010 09:11

IT Industry - Strategy

A strong Australian dollar and what is claimed to be increasing discernment among second-time router buyers has pushed one broadband router company to a record high in sales, even over the traditionally quieter Christmas period.

According to broadband routers company, Billion, and its Australian distributor, PC Range, there’s increasing discernment amongst Australian router buyers corresponding with the strengthening of the Australian dollar, which has led to lower prices across the product range.

PC Range Sales Manager for Billion, Chris Sa’aga, claims that many of the company’s customers are now buying replacement routers after having used “lower-quality devices supplied by ISPs as part of a contract,” and that people are deciding “not to cut corners with quality in their routers.”

"It’s interesting that our hottest-selling models are the more expensive units, the BiPAC 7404VNPX and the BiPAC 7800N. They’ve had good reviews and won a couple of awards, especially the VNPX, and they are well-configured for the future with Wireless N and Gigabit LAN.”

According to Sa’aga, Billion broadband routers are experiencing a record surge, and he says that since October last year, PC Range has experienced record sales every month, without any drop in demand during the typically quieter Christmas period.

Chris Sa’aga, said the company had recorded its best-ever sales during the past four months. “It’s going pretty crazy at the moment. We attribute that to the price drop and the recovery that has started in the economy. We thought it would drop off a bit over Christmas, as it usually does, but it has just carried on.”

And, Sa’aga says the surge in sales of Billion routers has been spread evenly across the country.