This issue of Argox Barcode News talks about the company's original decision to develop its own brand in the thirteenth installment of the Story of Argox. Also included is a report on the follow up to July's Retail Technology show in Sydney, Australia, and a preview of the INVEX show in Brno, Czech Republic.

• I love going to see horror movies. Screaming in a theatre is my idea of fun
• The cutest cat in the whole world lives at my house. Its name is "Meow"
• I want to become a modern woman. One who can sell a lot of barcode printers with one hand, and cook great food with the other

• I like to shop for new clothes, but I only dare to let my dogs Wulong and Nono see me wear them
• My first love is Wulong, next is Nono, and then it's my boyfriend
• Often I like to go to scary movies with my boyfriend, this way I can show him my little girl side

• The best way for me to relieve the pressure of work is to go shopping—going shopping in Taipei suits me just right
• If you hear me playing the same song over and over again, it's because I'm practicing for Karaoke
• Certain people like to keep certain birds. Can you guess what kind of bird I like?

There were three objectives in addition to the training: 1) to follow-up on new contacts made at the show—some with excellent potential; 2) to collect more information on market conditions to understand the situation our customers face; and 3) to let our customers know that we are very serious.

David Tai, Asia-Pacific sales director, said, "We want our customers to know that we're not 1,000 miles away. We are already there to support them and that we are a responsive company. Some were surprised to see us so soon, but they gave us a warm welcome. We know that even industry people will have a lot of questions."

By continuing dealer training and preparing sales and service teams dedicated to Australia and New Zealand, Argox is committed to supporting our customers down under.

The issue was discussed at Argox for two years before taking the plunge. The partners looked at ways to develop their own brand, but still keep existing ODM customers. Over the course of their discussions they settled on three principles that would separate the two types of business and reduce the chance for any conflict with customers.

The first principle was product differentiation. Argox would create products for customers with modified configurations such as different designs, features and functions. The customers' products would remain distinct from Argox products.

The second principle was channel management. Argox would make an effort to avoid customer channels, so there would be no market conflicts. Since current customers were in the developed markets of North America, Japan, and Europe, Argox's focus would be on markets in the rest of the world, such as India, China, and Eastern Europe. The new markets often require low cost products in small volumes.

The third principle was brand position. The Argox brand would be positioned for the low- to mid- end market, whereas current customers positioned their products as mid- to high-end.

While discussing the Argox brand strategy, the partners realized that there were also potential synergies that would benefit ODM customers. As Argox developed markets in the rest of the world, the additional production volume would bring down materials costs, production costs, and overhead. Marketing Argox products would also provide direct feedback on technical issues and allow Argox to improve its products. Over time lower production costs and better products would make both Argox and their ODM customers more competitive.

The years following the introduction of the Argox brand have proved that it was a successful strategy and the right decision. Argox has kept their ODM customers happy by avoiding market conflicts, while providing more competitive products. As further proof, by 2005 Argox has become the world's largest ODM supplier of barcode label printers.