In the past year things have been tough not only nationally but also globally.  A2000 Systems like a lot of other companies are trying our hardest and best to weather this turbulent economic storm.  It hasn’t been easy at times but we hope that as time goes by things will improve.  One of the reasons that we are able to do this is our strong product range.  We feel that all our products are now representing real value for money in these cash strapped times.  Not only that we also feel that the public do deserve a product that is both stylish and practical even in these times.  Of course we have seen sales slightly dip but that’s to be expected and we are hoping that sales will pick up in time.  We have to be on the ball all the time because technology is also changing with both LED flat screens and also we are on the verge of home 3D viewing.  This will see an explosion of new TV’s being released and we at www.a2000systems.co.uk hopefully will have a product that compliments these new releases.  As we always say our 3 key strategies is “value for money, practicality and style” which we feel is what everyone who is not only a potential buyer but also an existing customer.  Our 2 ranges of cable managements are our best sellers and hopefully we will be able to continue and develop this concept and again in time sales will prove us right as it has done in the past!

With me I like things to look good – and again this all boils down to personal preference.  For some reason only known to the deepest parts of my soul I have an interest in cameras, trainers and rucksacks.  Some of you out there will think “weird” but in the big wide world there are others like me who share my same loves.  I’ve known people who have hundreds of film cameras in their collection – me I have just gone through and used a wide range from various makers.  I am now down to just one – a well used Nikon F4s, which is heavy and noisy but I wouldn’t get rid of it for “all the tea in china”.  Then there are the trainers.  I own only 5 pairs (all skate shoes) but again there are people who have hundreds and hundreds of pairs.  I’ve owned trainers which when I first clapped my eyes on them have instantly wanted to own but on wearing them have been some of the most uncomfortable pairs of footwear I have worn.  I do like skate shoes and there are 2 pairs in the bottom of my wardrobe I haven’t worn yet – saw them and just had to buy them!  With rucksacks its mainly the practical side for me – I always seem to need more storage space for some reason.  Now with the explosion of Internet shopping I could spend “big bucks” on various items not because I needed them but because something catches my eye and I just cant resist the temptation.  I will probably browse Ebay later (Mmmm)

We are on the verge of the 3D TV revolution.  “The world is about to go on a 3DTV shopping frenzy” say experts.  With the release on 3D screens this year, market experts are predicting a scramble and some analysts are guestimating that there will be 41,000,000 3D screens in use by the year 2014.  With the success of 3D movie release “Avatar” this is expected to fuel home interest.  More and more exposure to 3D films is important to the debut of 3DTV as the more consumers that have seen 3D films then the more interested there are than say the general population in being able to view 3D content in their home.  Some researchers are predicting that 3D will be long lasting with figures like “64 million screens being shipped by 2018” being touted about. With this new format and growth the buying public want reassurance that such things as 3D glasses will interoperate between brands.  Blu-ray was the first hurdle in the quest for 3D specification and the continual development of the format hopefully will tempt the public into embracing 3DTV.  As with most things it’s just a question of time but if the experts are to be prepared “just wait for the 3D avalanche to begin”.  We at www.a2000systems.co.uk wait with baited breath!

When you have an idea for a product be it new or an existing concept (say a car or TV for instance) you next likely step will be to design it.  This may be a straight forward or difficult process but fingers crossed the finished design will be both “spot on” not only for yourself but also for the public (at the end of the day these are the people who pay the bills!)  Now its that time for you to think up a name for your product - this has to be both something that grabs peoples attention but also capture the spirit of the product.  Our first range of A2000 cable management systems were called the Ebony (black) Onyx (white) and Stainless (plain brushed metal finish) - hopefully these names were spot-on in both aspects.  Now we have replaced these with the “SPX” range and just used this name with the colour of the product (its simplier than trying to remember name for the differnet colour combinations!) - its simple but at the end of the day we think it works.  Its the same with our “XPC” range - just using the colour name (Black XPC for example)  Some manufacturers who use 3 letters has them standing for something - the tricky part is do you think of the 3 names or the the 3 letters then think of the names (case of chicken or the egg maybe?)  With us “SPX” and “XPC” dont stand for anything (apart from “Style”, “Practicality”, “Value for Money”)  The “name game” is very much like the aspect of design which I touched on in earlier blogs and I may come back to this??

After a time a products design can begin to look outdated.  However it may be tempting to redesign there is always the risk that the public will not like the new look product.  The main issue I imagine is that any change may result in lower sales even though the actual concept may not have altered.  When we at A2000 Systems redesigned our original line of cable management systems it was because that on odd occasions buyers were finding it difficult to assemble (not that there was a design fault) and the “new + improved” SPX range is even more popular with the buying public.  There are instances where well established products from days gone by are re-released many years later only for them to prove slightly less popular than the original.  I can think of one that springs to mind - without mentioning its name a bike was re-released a few years back, but whilst keeping the original concept it lost many of its features that make it such a classic (its novel gear shift being one of them).  This is the fine line that has to be drawn these days - keeping that original genius design but whilst updates it for the 21st century.  This is very true for us here - do we go for a radical change in look whilst keeping the very essence that the public wants.  Car design is a classic example of using “shock tactics” for want of a better phrase - however if a product has been of the market for many years the buying public get used to the overall package and and maybe scared off with any radical changes etc.  You can never tell what the public likes!!

Firstly I will admit that I don’t drive.  Have been moaned at to learn but have never taken the plunge (how hard can it be??)  This doesn’t take away my interest in the car but this is from a design perspective.  One of my favourite manufacturers has to be the “German legend” that is Porsche.  From that first 911 to the latest incarnation of it, it always will be my ideal car.  If you compare the latest version to the first you can instantly see where its heritage came from.  I know the guts of the motor have changed a lot since 1948 (when the 1^st 356 rolled off the production line) but deep down that classic concept and style have remained apart from the odd tweak here and there.  Its not only the 911 that has evolved but Porsche as a company – they have seen there is a market to be had in other areas with both a SUV and a four door sports “limo” in their arsenal.  But my personal favourite out of the current line up has to be the GT3 – (£81,914 / 194mph / 3.6L 415hp) a stripped out racer for the road that will scare the **** out of you!!   With those flowing lines that make it unmistakably a Porsche.  I could waffle on all day about their motors but space and time dictates.  At the end of the day Porsche is a bit like Marmite – you either love them or hate them!!

One of the hardest things for us to achieve and get right is the tricky world of advertising our product range.  We have adverts in a couple of visual/audio magazines, as this is the idea market for us to reach.  People use these to search out a new flat screen and hopefully will be tempted by our advert.  The “A2000 Systems” magazine advert feature our cable management systems in a home environment so that people can get a very good idea how they will look.  It’s not only the “visual” mags that we use but also a couple of other genre types as we feel that there is an untapped potential to get our products range noticed by a wider audience.  We also use a couple of local publications and we have has sales that were generated by these.  We have not forgot the “power” of leaflets or random emails in our ever-changing quest to achieve a growing sales rate.  These all are interlinked to our website www.a2000systems.co.uk where you can get all the information that you may need when choosing one of our extensive product range.  But at the end of the day people do appreciated talking to a real person and we have top staff that are only too happy to advise customers through every stage of the buying process. 

At A2000 Systems we are always on the lookout for new ideas and concepts and some of our products have under gone a change in design whilst keeping the original idea so that the customer gets what we feel is the product they deserve.  However we are always open to feedback from not only existing customers but from future customers who like the look of what we manufacture and sell.  However its not just our products that we look at in regards to improving the service we give.  Whether it’s from advertising, sales, feedback etc we strive to make things better and like to keep an eye on every facet of our business.  We have all sorts of feedback from people 99% but on the odd occasion we do receive negative ones but this is all part and parcel of the business we are in.  It doesn’t matter if we receive 1 or 101 complaints they are just as important to us and we work very hard to improve that it doesn’t happen again but after all we are just human.  Getting it right is never going to be easy no matter what it is but we will bend over backwards to improve not only the products we sell but also the service we give to you!!!

When we at A2000 Systems realised there was a market for a systems to hide away all those ugly cables and leads we quickly designed a “cable management systems” that was both easy to install as well as stylish and practical. With an initial range of three CMS’s these proved to be very popular mainly because there was nothing on the market at that time that did this job. After a while we decided to take at look at this concept and see if we could simplify it but still keep the original idea. We replaced the 2-piece metalwork with a single piece that attached to the wall with 6 screws and then replaced the glass panels that were previously stuck in place with magnetised glass panels. These made it far easier to put all your cables into the unit and then hide them from view. We feel that the SPX range is the answer to that age-old problem of hiding away visual/audio cables and keeping your equipment tidy and organised. Our XPC range also works on the same sort of principle but allows you to have more equipment placed beneath you TV due to the 3 shelves instead of two. Other manufacturers have realised there is a market for this type of product but we at www.a2000systems.co.uk like to think we are the originators!!!

We are like all companies and use the internet to advertise our products.  We try to keep our website www.a2000systems.co.uk regularly updated either with new products or with info on how things are going with the company in general (see the articles section on the website).  It pays to check us out to see what we are up to as we are always looking at our products to see if they can be improved (not that theres nothing wrong with them!)  and also if we are stocking anything that might be a solution to a specific requirement that you are looking for.  We are also updating the shopping facilites that we use so that we can still reach a wide audience again with new or improved products.  Know where and advertise  is always a hit and miss affair - we are always looking at expanding our sales to to do this we need to be flexible.  We need to look at what sources will be the best for us and can change either the magazine or shopping facility accordingly so as to reach a greater share of the market/public.  As more and more companies use the net we need to try to be at the top which cant be easy at times but we always are adapting and changing to try to come out on top!