The payoff from a $29 DVD player is the cultural capital of savvy that goes with finding a bargain. [New York Times: Technology]
To understand how powerful that urge can be, don’t think about multipacks of paper towels or huge jars of mayonnaise. Think about DVD players — specifically, Apex DVD players. Of the 31.1 million DVD players sold last year, roughly 10 percent were Apex models, according to the NPD Group, the retail tracker. That puts the brand in second place, just behind Sony, but the two companies could not be more different. Sony is a storied innovator, a name familiar to consumer-electronics buyers for decades as a technological leader. The Apex name — for those who even notice it — has been around for about five years and basically means ”bargain.”
Apex is one smart-ass company. They have about 100 employees and did about $1 Billion in sales last year. While they are based in California they outsource the tech stuff to Asia and pass the savings back to the consumers… They’ve also teamed with stores like Walmart to create “door-busters” like their feature-reduced, loss leader, $29 DVD player last Christmas.