Esquire Technologies, the digital lifestyle focused ICT distributor, is celebrating its 14th year in business – a period in which it rose to become one of South Africa’s most successful computer distributors, boasting a reseller base  of more than 12 000.

Esquire was launched in a house in Clubview,Pretoria, by the founders - Asgar Mahomed and Mahomed Cassim. It now boasts a office spanning more than 8 000 square metres.

Mahomed Cassim, the CEO of Esquire, said the “whole idea behind the launch of Esquire was to set up an ICT distribution company that would service the small and medium-sized dealers  – and even the ‘mom and pop’ shops”.

The company has met this goal and today services more  than 12 000 resellers, many of them SMMEs. In just 14 years Esquire has risen to become one of the top IT distributors in the country with an excellent portfolio of exclusive brands and partners with a list of multinational vendors.

“Over the years,” said Cassim, “we have constantly been changing. We started out as a traditional distributor, but now we are far more focused, which makes us unique. Our core focus is to be SA’s leading digital lifestyle focused ICT distributor. Additionally we are focused on bringing in more tier one products which are popular in United Kingdom and Europe. We are also growing our mobile division by focusing more on Tablets and smart phones  and last year introduced our own range of tablets – the Geeko range – which is  making quite an impact on the local market.”

Cassim added that the company has focused on a handful of key divisions, including Point Of Sale, Security, Gaming, Mobile and Digital Lifestyle.

The company  also scored a world first by launching its Virtual Reseller Network (VRN) for its resellers.

Resellers who sign up to the VRN are “virtually turned into e-commerce driven companies,” said Cassim. They have online access to the entire stockholding of Esquire, and can order stock on-line around the clock.

The company currently has four branches in major metropolitan areas with the intention to open two more in 2014. There are also plans to invest a further R40 million in expanding its existing head office in Midrand.

Asgar Mahomed, the managing director of Esquire, said the expansion will take the office complex to more than 12 000 square meters of office and warehouse space. The expansion will also include expanding the company’s Xpress store concept from its current 1 500 square metres to 4000 square metres.

“The Xpress format has proved extremely popular and is seen as a major convenience for the company’s resellers, many of whom buy directly from Xpress,” said Mahomed.

Besides its plans to expand its main Xpress store in Midrand, Esquire also opened an additional Xpress store in Port Elizabeth at the end of June last year – and is planning a further store for Bloemfontein in 2014.

Today the company boasts a staff complement of over 200, including full-time employees and contractors.

Over the past few years the Esquire has won almost 100 local and international awards for distribution excellence and innovation. Cassim added that the key to the success of Esquire is the dedication of its staff, many of whom have been with the company since it opened. “Everyone in the group has an important role to play to make sure that we maintain a high level of client excellence, which is paramount to our business.”