VIP Customer Newsletter - Issue 18

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ll begin this update as I started the last… times are tough, not only for our industry but for the economy as a whole. Although I’d love to begin by outlining all the positives from the last quarter (and I will later on), I also believe there’s a source of reassurance, in knowing that you’re not alone in this. I can tell you that I could count on one hand, the amount of vendors and customers from the hundreds we deal with, who are telling us they’re currently seeing growth. The rising cost of living, the energy crisis and a weak Pound are all conspiring to making these very challenging times.

To give you some idea, VIP transacted around 20% less in the quarter just gone, than we did over the same period last year. This generally aligns with some of our less volatile, core categories, such as monitors, motherboards and networking, all of which are anywhere between 15% and 25% down. The major exception to this is graphics cards which are circa 35% down. cards and CPUs which are 35%-40% down. Many of you will remember that this time last year, the crypto-boom was in full swing, with graphics cards seemingly more valuable than gold at that time. We simply couldn’t get our hands on them quickly enough! Now however, with Bitcoin and others dropping markedly since then, demand has dropped significantly and with it, so has pricing, with products returning to their actual MSRPs for the first time in more than a year. The plus side of this, is that gamers and system builders are now able to get their hands on GPUs again, which ultimately has a positive knock-on effect to the other computing categories.

The immediate response to the new AMD launch has been positive, with strong review scores and performance metrics showing that the 7000 series chips are between 12% and 44% faster than their 12th generation Intel equivalents. Of course with Intel’s 13th generation ‘Raptor Lake’ CPUs having also just launched, the real benchmark test is to come, and end user demand has been

somewhat measured as enthusiasts and gamers hold firm and wait for the current cycle of launches to bear fruit, with stock limited.

This ties into the NVIDIA 4000 series GPU launch – with stock of the initial 4090 card selling out throughout the channel almost immediately on the initial launch date, there remains a strong demand amongst enthusiasts for super high end GPUs despite some concerns from reviewers about the higher MSRPs, particularly given current market conditions.

As with all launches, supply is likely to be tight and available only under allocation for the first few waves, with resupply coming throughout October and November.

Whether the initial enthusiast demand follows through into mainstream demand is yet to be seen – if this consumer excitement carries through however, these generations of GPU and CPU also require significant investment in other components (new motherboard chipsets, larger power supplies, even larger cases), so we can anticipate growth across the wider components sector as Intel, AMD and NVIDIA all inspire DIY end users to build entirely new PCs around their new products (rather than simply upgrading a single component).

As mentioned ASPs (average selling prices) have begun to drop from where they were circa 6 months or so ago. That said, we’re not seeing demand return to the price points they were pre-covid, with end-users still higher up the stack than they were then. It’s worth ensuring your ranges reflect this shift, as I hear a lot about ‘return to pre-covid levels’, which may or may not be accurate when talking about sales but not necessarily in relation to whereabouts in the stack those sales sit.

Moving away from the day-to-day momentarily, September saw VIP host it’s annual VIP Connect event, bringing customers and vendor partners from across the industry together at Carden Park Cheshire, for what was a fantastic event. Keynote presentations were delivered by VIP, Microsoft and Corsair, before attendees broke off into groups to undertake various activities in the afternoon. Once everyone had freshened up and donned their formal attire, attendees sat down for a meal before taking part in a casino night. Ultimately the event is about connecting people and all feedback suggests this mission was accomplished, with guests able to put faces to names and discuss opportunities throughout the day.

As I come to the end of this update, it’s not been long since the Pound hit an all-time low against the Dollar, momentarily almost being at the once unthinkable 1-for-1 rate. The knock on effect of such swings, for our industry in particular is huge, with a large proportion of products being purchased and imported in dollars. No doubt conversations will need to be had with vendors about amending MSRPs to account for this, as the end-to-end margin for all parties is squeezed. VIP will of course look to communicate this to you, our customers, as and when we receive notification.

”Combine this latest news with the costs of running a business generally going up and we fully appreciate times may be difficult, especially before peak demand really kicks in. My one big ask here, is to keep talking with us. The worst thing you can do is go quiet, especially if payments are overdue. If we’re aware, we can try to support where possible and it at least means we know the circumstances and can account for it internally. Without this, we’re left in the dark, which can ultimately lead to a cease in trading, which none of us want, especially as we enter what is traditionally all our most successful period. As always, a huge thank you for reading to this point and I wish you all the best on the run up to Christmas.

Elliott

Sales Director

The 4th of October saw us launch our latest Windows incentive with a bang. We had a fantastic day with our internal teams.

You’ve got to be in it, to win it!

What this means for you:

Oh What a Night!

VIP Connect 22 had big shoes to fill following the success of the first iteration of this event last year and it didn’t disappoint as it went bigger and better than before.

Thank you to all of our customers and vendor partners who joined us for a day of networking and fun at the incomparable Carden Park estate.

The day started with outstanding keynotes from our very own Elliott Hodgeon and Dave Evans as they took delegates through the opportunities available at VIP, including a sneak peak at our highly anticipated ecommerce platform.

Anjana Srinivasen of Microsoft was not to be outdone as she announced hot new features coming soon to Windows 11 to audience members in advance of the official release.

The keynotes were rounded off by Corsair’s own Ben Wilson who shared the opportunities partnering with Corsair will bring as you enter the Peak Season.

Once the important information was discussed, Carden Park delivered the “A game” to our golfers in attendance, had our activity teams battling it out and in hysterics as they competed in an array of challenges, whilst our spa goers mastered the art of pampering and relaxation.

“Hit the Jackpot”

Topping off the most incredible day, was a thrilling casino night, to take the fun and laughter in to the early hours.

Is it “in the cards” to bring back VIP Connect in 2023? Watch this space…

AGON by AOC – one of the world’s leading gaming monitor and IT accessories brands – announces the 27” (68.58 cm) AGON PRO AG274QZM, a super-fast 240 Hz gaming monitor with QHD resolution and a breath-taking MiniLED IPS panel. The AG274QZM beautifully matches the punchy and accurate colours of the IPS panel with a MiniLED backlight that has 576 dimming zones. This enables the monitor to achieve the high-tier DisplayHDR 1000 certification with 1200 nits peak brightness, displaying deep blacks and bright sunlight in the same frame, while offering true high-speed gaming (1 ms GtG) without compromises that competitive gamers look for.

DESIGNED FOR SUCCESS

AGON PRO AG274QZM is the new member of the AGON PRO family geared towards the legends of the gaming community: pro-competitive players and esports enthusiasts. Sharing the exquisite craftsmanship of its family, the AGON PRO AG274QZM features an award winning (red dot design award) form and heavyduty,` ergonomic stand. The stand, with built-in cable management offers height, tilt, swivel and pivot adjustments for healthy, comfortable gaming sessions.

The 3-sides frameless 27“ IPS panel with 1.07 billion colours features a QHD resolution (2560x1440) and 240 Hz refresh rate, the best combination of features for today’s highend competitive gaming. The QHD resolution offers a sweet spot for the current GPU’s to achieve both high fidelity and high framerates. On the other hand, the 240 Hz refresh rate today represents the new base level for competitive FPS gamers, who were long accustomed to 144 Hz refresh rates and above. With a true 1 ms GtG response time, fast-paced action on the monitor appears smooth with virtually no ghosting. Thanks to the on-board Nvidia G-Sync compatibility, tearing and stutter are eliminated by using variable refresh rate.

Furthermore, the AG274QZM is great for gamers who also work from home or use their PCs for content creation. The versatile monitor offers USB-C connectivity, with 65 W power delivery to charge and power connected laptops. With 4x USB 3.2 ports, the monitor can act as a dock to connect

The more the merrier...

The main feature of the competitive AG274QZM is its MiniLED backlight with 576 individual dimming zones. By turning on the backlight on only a small portion of the panel, the monitor can reach up to 1200 nits brightness to display bright visual features such as sunlight, fire etc., while displaying deep, dark shadows at the same time. This high dynamic range increases the perceived contrast ratio immensely and provides a

rich, vivid and immersive gaming experience. With the included monitor shield, the display can overcome challenges such as bright ambient light or reflections from stage/ fill lights, increasing the perceived contrast even more. Certified with VESA DisplayHDR 1000, the AG274QZM offers a true HDR experience, combined with a fast refresh rate and sharp QHD resolution.

IN STOCK NOW

SKU: 121736

additional peripherals such as keyboard, mouse etc. With a built-in KVM switch, users can swap between two sources (e.g. a gaming pc and a work or streaming pc) while using the same keyboard and mouse set.

To customise the monitor to users’ individual desk setups, the AG274QZM

offers Light FX RGB lights on the back, which can be synchronised with other AGON by AOC gear. A logo projector also projects the AGON logo onto the desk for extra flair. The included puck-shaped QuickSwitch controller makes adjusting the OSD settings a breeze, while it can also be controlled via the joystick, or the G-Menu software.

Discover Philips 27 inch all-around PC gaming displays

The Philips monitors from the M3000 series are designed to optimise for higher performance and better gaming experiences. Each of these monitors is the ultimate solution offering 1ms MPRT response time, no input lag, and flickerfree, making your gaming moments more optimal and enjoyable than ever.

Combined with built-in speakers and compatibility for new next-gen consoles and up to 165hz, Philips Momentum 3000 is the finest product series for any platform of your choosing.

LATEST GEN DESKTOP PROCESSORS & MOTHERBOARD CHIPSETS

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT HERE

As

As

Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics for Desktops

Introducing the newest entrant in the graphics universe: Intel® Arc™ A-Series graphics. With built-in machine learning, graphics

We don’t have long to wait for the release of AMD’s upcoming Radeon™ 7000 GPUs, powered by RDNA 3 on the 3rd of November. Look out for more information after launch.

As always launch stock for each will be limited but we’ll be doing all we can to fulfil back orders as soon as possible so speak to your account manager for our latest stock positions and to place orders.

acceleration, and ray tracing hardware, Intel Arc graphics contains the world’s most advanced technologies uniting fluid gaming, the latest in visual technologies, and rich content creation across mobile and desktop form factors.

LIVE STREAMING: NEW MEDIA, NEW OPPORTUNITY

Live streaming has become one of the fastest growing media industries, having grown by 99% between April 2019 and April 2020, and projected to reach to $223.98 billion by 2028. From advertising to content creation and collaboration, this nascent industry is filled with lots of commercial opportunities for brands, creators,

and the platforms they broadcast on. Today we’re looking at the greatest opportunity for resellers, the equipment used on or for a stream.

The biggest brands, making live streaming equipment, are Razer and Elgato.

Let’s start with the basic building blocks for any streaming setup, the camera. Elgato offers a premium Elgato Facecam, while Razer’s Kiyo webcam comes in 3 variations (Kiyo, Kiyo X and Kiyo Pro) with only the pro version offering the same 1080p 60fps experience as Elgato’s Facecam.

The Kiyo Pro and Elgato Facecam are both high-end webcams that are packed with features that are geared towards creating professional-level streaming and video conferencing, like low-light sensors and premium lenses. However, the Razer Kiyo Pro comes with more features that make it appealing to more than just streamers, like the HDR support, autofocusing, an omnidirectional mic, and a variable field of view; all features that work well in video conferencing. In comparison, the Elgato Facecam’s

features seem purpose-built for streamers. The fixed focus provides less distraction for viewers, the digital zoom should be enough for any desk setup, and the lack of microphone acknowledges how most streamers use a dedicated mic. Both webcams have their strengths and weaknesses, but both are more than capable of delivering a premium streaming experience and having either of these in stock should make independent retailers more attractive to live streamers.

Both CORSAIR and Razer have brought out mounts, ring lights, and capture cards to complement their webcams, providing resellers plenty of opportunity to cross-sell within the same ecosystem, regardless of which brand they go with.

Another fundamental part of any streaming setup is the microphone; and both Razer and Elgato have great offerings. Razer’s Seiren range includes the Razer Seiren Mini, Razer SeirenV2 X, and Razer SeirenV2 Pro; all promising crystal clear voice capture but with different sets of features. The Seiren Mini is the smallest in Razer’s line-up, in comparison to the X and Pro versions, and has a more strippeddown set of features; unlike the Razer SeirenV2 X, and Razer SeirenV2 Pro, it lacks access to Razer’s Synapse 3.0 software, a 3.55mm headphone jack, and volume/gain control dials. However, both the Razer Seiren Mini and the Razer SeirenV2 X feature

For smaller spaces and creators who are looking to record in the same stationary position, the Razer Seiren Mini and Razer SeirenV2 X are great options to go with. For podcasters with multiple hosts/guests, or for streamers looking for a bit more control over their audio, we recommend going with the Razer SeirenV2 Pro or the Elgato Wave:3. Both come with desktop stands and are mountable, but CORSAIR sells more of the components you need to mount their mic to arms (such as desktop clampable stands and mic arms). For content creators on the move, Razer does offer a mobile bluetooth microphone.

a supercardioid pickup pattern, meaning they are most sensitive to sound coming from the front and are great at rejecting ambient noise, making them perfect for studio and smaller streaming setups. While the Razer SeirenV2 Pro and Elgato Wave:3 have a more flexible and less directional cardioid pickup pattern, which makes them ideal all-round mics that are tuned for speech and capable of rejecting background noise in controlled environments. The Wave:3 works well with the Elgato WaveLink software and is packed with many premium features, like a touch sensitive mute panel seen in many premium microphones.

Talk to us, we’d like to collaborate with you!

To support our aim to ‘help your business grow’, we would like to find out what is important to you and how VIP UK can support your business in 2022.Speak to your account manager at your earliest convenience so we can collaborate for mutual success.

If it’s been a while since w e last spoke to you, there’s no better time to speak to us as we have lots of deals available to help you buy smarter.