Kensington pushes channel direction towards mobile accessories

Kensington wants to broaden its brand awareness so that people understand its full range rather than associating it with security products.

 Sam Goldstein product manager for Kensington said the company will launch a range of Netbook accessories next month.

This includes four wired and wireless mouse, a neoprene sleeve for carrying notebooks and security locks for netbooks.

Its distributors are Anywhere, Try and Byte, Express online and Ingra Micro.

"The new products are smaller than most computer accessories. We are targeting the mobile space, allowing people to be connected when they are out and about," said Goldstein.

"We are looking to broaden the appeal of Kensington, to get people to understand that we are really about mobile computing. We want to be seen as a mobile accessory provider rather than people who just supply locks."

Goldstein said Kensington used to work through a lot of office products dealers, Acco is its parent company. It sells through the channel as well.

"We have a very strong bond with Mac resellers and Apple is one of our global partners however, we want to be known for more than just security products.

Kensington was originally known for notebook locks but in the last few years has broadened its product set across seven different categories.

"In the past Kensington focused on an online sales model rather than an in-store retail model," said Goldstein.

"We were predominantly a stationery business and didn't have much visibility for the general consumer so we looked at online sales for consumers to purchase our products.

"Now we are looking for point of sales to get the brand in front of people."

With the netbook accessories launch, the company hopes to broaden the appeal of its product range to in-store retailers and aggressively increase its in-store presence through 2009.