Target News

2023 - A Year in Review by Michael Lawrence, Target Managing Director

I’ll be honest, 2023 has passed in a flash, so I’ve had to take some time during the Christmas break to really look at what Target has achieved in 2023. And it looks like we’ve done a LOT…

From exciting brand launches to industry accolades, employee celebrations and ground-breaking initiatives, it has been a year of growth, innovation, and continued commitment to our customers.

Brand Launches and Partnerships

Launching a new brand is always a special event, and we’ve been lucky enough to launch several in 2023 that bolster our existing product ranges, in some cases, to products the like of which we’ve never stocked before. We were appointed official distributor by esteemed German manufacturer be quiet!, TP-Link for their Omada business networking range, as well as Taiwanese manufacturer, Dahua, for their incredible Interactive Flat Panel (IFP) Smart whiteboards and accessories that now allow us to address customers with strong relationships in education, conferencing, hospitality and public services. And, just in time for Christmas, we launched an entirely new brand of desktop PCs by LOGIX that we’re hoping will offer customers an alternative to the limited offerings from big brands, whilst also providing much higher margins and the opportunity to sell other, high-margin add-ons (piXL monitors, anyone?).

Employee Ownership and Culture

In June, Target celebrated its first anniversary as an Employee-Owned Trust, and we marked the occasion with a staff party at Target HQ. This brought the whole team together to celebrate our shared success – something that is more important than ever now that we all have a genuine, personal investment in how the Company performs. I kicked things up a notch by getting the grill going and flexing my dad-level BBQ skills. Being employee-owned is at the heart of Target – it’s more than just an ownership status, it’s woven into our culture and how the company operates. This commitment remains steadfast, with an ongoing dedication to nurturing and preserving this unique aspect of our identity.

Tech Max 2023 and Tech for Tech Awards

Channel exhibition and conference, Tech Max 2023, presented the perfect opportunity for Target to engage with customers. The Target stand displayed products from Marvo, prevo, piXL, and Ubiquiti, whilst the interactive whiteboards by Dahua, and the Custom PC Builder featured in our dedicated Build Room. One of our experienced Build Technicians, Alex, was demonstrating our PC builds quality by building PCs live, which surprised many attendees with the attention to detail and care Alex and the Builds Team put into every PC we make. It was like a live-action show of what makes us stand out! The evening rolled into the Tech for Tech Awards in which Target snagged both Best Website and Best Account Manager, through our Senior Account Manager, Sean Goldrick.

25th Anniversary

August marked a big milestone - Target celebrated its 25^th Anniversary. A quarter of a century as a distributor is nothing to be sniffed at. As a relative newbie to both Target and the channel, I am still astounded at the positive culture within Target, both from our staff to our customers, some of whom have been with us right from the start. We’ve weathered good times and bad times and the communications I’ve had with our customers, staff and suppliers – from war stories to why our customers stay with us – it honestly makes me beam with pride for the company I’ve joined.

Whilst we celebrated our anniversary internally at Target HQ, we wanted to wait until the Open Day before we did it properly – it wouldn’t be right unless we included our customers and suppliers.

PCR Awards

It really did come as a complete surprise - Target won the prestigious Company of the Year title at the PCR Awards 2023! We’ve always considered ourselves a relatively small fish in the distribution pond, but to be recognised and lauded by a panel of industry experts for the things we do, the culture we practice and the impact we’ve had on our customers, rather than the sales we’ve made, is tremendously humbling.

Target’s Senior Buyer, Amy Duggleby, graced the stage to accept the award in front of numerous representatives from the IT channel, including vendors, distributors, resellers, service providers and the hosts themselves, PCR magazine. Having spoken to PCR since, we’ve learned that Target all the unique things we do, the services we offer, and the culture we have, hasn’t gone unnoticed. I think I speak for everyone at Target when I say that we are completely humbled and incredibly proud to have won this award. But it does raise the bar somewhat…

Target Open Day

On the 29^th September, we had our own chance to celebrate the IT channel as we hosted our annual Open Day. The first post-pandemic, the day took a familiar form with a large exhibition featuring 48 exhibitors, over 30 business workshops focussing on opportunities and advice for our reseller customers, an evening of dining and entertainment, followed by celebrations that continued into the weekend.

Among the highlights of the day was the official unveiling of Target PC Build Services, our newest department that integrates our current services - the Custom PC Builder, the In-Store PC Builder and Quick PC Builder – but also includes service enhancements like OEM PC production for resellers wanting their own brand.

But the exhibition and workshops weren’t just about products and technology; 15 experts from a range of fields gave up their time to attend the Open Day. From the Bank of England offering insights into the economic outlook to leasing companies providing information on funding access and personal development professionals advising on business enhancement, the whole day provided a diverse and enriching experience for all attendees.

Post-exhibition, we were all treated to a special event curated by Kingston Technology to celebrate our 25^th anniversary. One of our longest-standing vendor partnerships, Kingston’s event was great opportunity to relax and take stock of how far technology has progressed in the last 25 years. It also allowed me, and the rest of the Target staff, to see where all of our efforts go – the conversations we had could easily result in big-headedness for a lot of companies but, as usual, I saw Target staff take it in their stride, always humble, and always asking what we should be doing next.

As if that wasn’t enough, we all got to enjoy a fantastic few hours with Kirsty’s Poptastic Piano Singalong, a combination of karaoke and Britain’s Got Talent, which saw some of the most memorable performances I’ve seen, and not always in a good way!

From the nervous start (“will anyone come along?”) to the small hours, it was a fantastic way of announcing the Target Open Day’s return and demonstrating the pride we all have in what we do.

Looking Ahead to 2024

2023 has been a year of growth, celebration, and innovation for Target Components. A big thanks to our incredible customers, partners, and employees for their continued support.

But we’re not hitting the snooze button anytime soon – if anything, all these successes in 2023 just drive us to do better in 2024 - that relentless spirit is the same one that will help us dish out even more opportunities for our customers to succeed.

Our strategic vision remains focused on enhancing our core business, maintaining a customer-centric approach, and refining each process and interaction through all functions for increased efficiency. Anticipate announcements of new products, services and solutions throughout the upcoming year, all with a consistent emphasis on delivering value to Target customers.