Safe to emerge?
It hadn't escaped our notice that Foxconn - the end-user brand of the world's largest technology manufacturer Hon Hai - has been pretty quiet for the past year, having kicked-off 2009 with a profit warning.
We can only assume that it was playing wait-and-see while the global recession unfolded, because a series of developments over the past week suggest it's decided to spring back into action.
A recent piece in the China Daily reported that Foxconn plans to become its own distributor in China and will open 10,000 ‘chain stores' there. Then it emerged that Dell is selling its Polish manufacturing operations in Lodz to Foxconn, but will continue to source its products from it.
But Foxconn apparently still has use for the channel outside of China, because yesterday it announced a pan-European distribution agreement with Avnet, covering its motherboards and barebone chassis.
"Our new distribution relationship with Avnet is vital to Foxconn's pan-European business expansion strategy because they recognize the unique needs of each market, while still being able to provide multi-national support," said Dennis Lin, Foxconn Europe GM.
While the range of Foxconn performance motherboards launched in 2008 didn't get the traction Hon Hai would have hoped, all the signs are the Foxconn is primed to renew its assault. With the power and resources of the world's biggest tech manufacturer behind it, you can bet competitors like ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI will be paying attention.
