Enhancing Consumer Experience

Worlds largest technology company Hewlett Packard (HP) recently announced
plans to expand its retail presence across the Asia Pacific region, as it
announced the rollout of 7,500 new retail stores and experience centers across
1,000 cities in APAC. The move will result in significantly broadening the
companys consumer reach to 25,000 retail partners stores by 2010.

Apart from opening up in big cities, our focus would be on to increasing our
retail presence in non-metropolitan cities like Jaipur, said Christopher
Morgan, senior vice president, imaging and printing group, HP APAC and Japan at
the two-day HP APAC regional press event in Hong Kong.

The opening up of these retail centers in non-metropolitan cities will enable
consumer to access HPs complete range of consumer offerings. Whats more, the
company is also pushing for deeper engagements with key consumers by way of new
alternate experience centers where lifestyle and technology gets merged. Adds
See Chin Teik, senior vice president, personal systems group, HP APAC and Japan,
These new alternate experience centers will further complement and strengthen
HPs growing retail footprint. Over the next two years, HP will rollout new HP
Experience stores covering 100 retail partner stores by end of 2008 and
encompass 200 retail partner stores by end of 2009.

Better Experience

To focus more on the retail consumer segment side, HP has identified three
key consumer segmentswomen, youth and families, and in line with this, has
unveiled its line-up of innovative personal computing and printing solutions for
simplifying consumers lives. Considering that women are increasingly becoming
one of the fastest growing consumer segments with high purchasing and spending
power, HP launched the Vivienne Tam edition notebook PC targeted at the
technologically savvy but fashion-conscious woman.

For the not-so savvy Internet consumer families but those who are still
looking for creative photo products, HP has tied up with Kishore Biyani-led
Future Group to set up photo centers for enabling families to do more with their
photos. These centers will provide easy-to-use, convenient, photo-printing
experience like personalized albums, calendars and greeting cards.

The company also introduced a comprehensive range of scalable products and
solutions for businesses designed to help drive an enhanced customer experience
for retail.

HPs new range of wireless printers and PCs will enable consumers to
integrate technology into their lifestyles easily with enhancements to wireless
and home printing, entertainment and design.

Stuti Das

The correspondent was hosted at Hong Kong by HP

stutid@cybermedia.co.in