Flush with flash cash
In fact, Kingston was even ranked the number one USB drive maker in the world, with 28 per cent of the market. And speaking of grabbing bigger pieces of pie, Kingston got its fill last year too, increasing market share in both DRAM and Flash as well as growing its unit share in CF cards, microSD and USB drives.
Indeed, according to the firm's representatives, Kingston has seen 21 years of mostly steady growth in an unpredictable market, remaining profitable, even as others have been forced to beg for government bailouts.
That's not to say the recession hasn't affected Kingston but, we were told, the company's revenue trend tends to track similarly to the industry's so when industry DRAM revenue fell by 17 per cent, Kingston also found itself down by exactly the same amount. Even so, as industry chip prices slumped, Kingston's unit sales increased to over 300 million units, making 2008 a "very solid year," regardless.
Kingston also attributes some of its success to what it deems its "flexible operations" and "strong supplier relationships," noting that many OEMs turn to Kingston because of its solid brand and reputation.
