Rock "remains focused on high-end laptops"

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 22 May 2008 at 15:48

The new owner of the Rock laptop brand says the company will continue to provide high-end laptops to consumers.

The Stone Group, which bought Rock as a going concern from its administrators earlier this week, has built its business in supplying PCs to the public sector.

But Stone's chief executive James Bird has told PC Pro that Rock will continue to supply high-performance portables to consumers. "We're going to continue in the format that you've been used to and look to develop other products," he said.

The Rock brand will, however, also be used for Stone's public-sector laptops, as the company aims to develop the brand into the channel. Will corporate buyers be impressed by a brand that's associated more with gamers than grunt work in the office? "[We supply] the High-Tech Crime Unit and NHS trusts that do buy high-end technology," Bird insisted. "We plan to take that [brand] and push it into the public sector."

While Bird insists that no Rock customers will suffer because of recent events, creditors of the "old" Rock - including many of the company's component suppliers - have been left out of pocket.

And Bird admits that some of the company's staff have not been retained. "Of the 25 people made redundant by the administrator, we've re-employed 14 of those," he said. "It's always difficult to keep all of the staff."