ThinkSmart Says First Month of Trade For Infinity Consumer Product in UK

23 Nov ThinkSmart Says First Month of Trade For Infinity Consumer Product in UK

ThinkSmart Says First Month Of Trade For Infinity Consumer Product In UK ‘Encouraging’

• UK Volumes Double After Strong Start
• Early Uptake Bodes Well for 2011 Growth

ThinkSmart Limited (ASX:TSM), a leading international computer and office equipment financing company, has completed its first month of trade with its new “Infinity” consumer product in the UK and says the early response has been very encouraging.

ThinkSmart launched Infinity into the UK with Dixons on 22 October 2010, the first time ThinkSmart has offered a consumer proposition in the UK, where it is aiming to emulate the success of its consumer product in Australia which has achieved a 51% Compound Annual Growth Rate over the last 4 years.

“After only 4 weeks of trade we are already more than doubling volumes from our existing UK operations,” said ThinkSmart Executive Chairman and CEO, Ned Montarello.  “This first month’s performance is in line with our expectations, and the acceptance and uptake by consumers is exciting as it paves the way for potentially significant growth in our UK business in 2011.

“We believe a 1% penetration rate into Dixons’ UK consumer computing sales is achievable in our first full year, which would translate into about £15m in sales.”

ThinkSmart’s Infinity product is distributed exclusively through the Dixons Retail group’s 600 plus  PC World and Currys stores, which last year generated nearly £1.4bn in sales of computing equipment. Infinity provides UK computer shoppers with the ability to access a new computer every 2 years which is fully supported for the life of their agreement.

“Infinity is a first to market proposition in the UK that provides us with a significant opportunity,” said Mr Montarello.

“Over 10,000 staff have already been trained and importantly approval rates through our new integrated till system are solid.  Feedback from both customers and sales colleagues on the product and process has also been outstanding.”

The Infinity product enables customers to access the latest computing technology from a Currys or PC World store through fixed monthly payments.

The customers’ computer is set-up before they leave store and comes with automatic online virus protection, 24/7 technical support for the duration of their contract and if they ever have a problem with their computer it will be fixed or replaced.

To make it easy for them to stay up-to-date, ThinkSmart will also reimburse them 25% of the original value of their equipment at the end of their term when they update their technology on a new Infinity contract.

The launch of Infinity has also seen ThinkSmart expand beyond just the 180 PC World stores where it previously offered a B2B product called SmartPlan to also add 500+ Currys mixed electrical stores