KitGuru begs nVidia “Don’t surrender the UK retail space”

Customers can only buy what stores offer to sell, so here's a question: How can nVidia eat into AMD's DX11 lead if the biggest technology store in the UK only seems to offer graphics cards from yesteryear?  KitGuru sneaks in a camera and goes prowling the component shelves within PC World.

Out of the 800,000 or so graphic cards that will be sold in the UK over the next 12 months, the majority will be delivered to customers inside PCs one way or another. Out of the remaining graphic cards, a significant chunk will be sold through PC World.

If a graphics manufacturer was interested in gaining DX11 market share (Mercury, Steam Powered research etc), they'd need to be solidly represented in that market space.

Scouring the shelves, KitGuru found wall-to-wall DirectX 11 from AMD and only 2xx series cards from nVidia. So what does that mean?

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While PC World might have been a complete joke 10 years ago, it now seems to have understood its limitations. Getting rid of the Dixons branding went a long way to ending the joke and DSG as a group now seems to be understanding that Currys.Digital was a pants idea.

We'd like to think that this was all down to improved management, but the more likely answer is that PC World saw companies like Best Buy coming into the market and evolution was forced.

While PC World has a distinct lack of selection and seriously high prices on computer components, it also has something very important. Queues. When KitGuru arrived early this morning, there was a serious queue outside – waiting for the doors to open.

If any of those people were in the market for DirectX 11 graphics, then there was only one possible option. AMD.

KitGuru says: Love or hate your particular component store, KitGuru still believes that choice is important. Looking on the shelves in PC World, you can't help but wonder if nVidia's retail strategy across the whole of Europe might need re-vamping. If customers are not being offered DX11 from nVidia, then they will carry on buying DX11 from AMD and that won't help nVidia win back market share. Given that innovation and value flourish only when there is serious competition, KitGuru doesn't want nVidia to give up so easily. We really hope that nVidia steps up to the plate and reinvigorates the UK retail channel.

If you'd like to see more choice, please let us know below or speak out in the KitGuru forum. We'll follow up with some more articles on the UK's biggest high street IT retailer shortly.

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