Marketing director Joe Wee with resident cat Moonfang at the new Aftershock PC service and retail center.
It’s official – Singapore’s Aftershock PC, a custom gaming laptop hardware startup, has launched in Malaysia. It will be working with distributor Tech Armoury to sell and service their rigs in Malaysia.
Founded in 2011, Aftershock PC has gone from strength to strength. Beginning in a small shophouse, it has now moved into a larger premise that boasts both an assembly line and retail shopfront; it now has ten full-time staff and two part-time staff, a huge jump from the three founders it began with.
It’s been a little more than two years since Aftershock PC started up. We caught up with them in October last year, shortly after the brand’s first anniversary, but a lot has happened since then.
Aftershock S15 painted by Modbot.
Apart from its ever-growing lineup of customizable laptops – of which there are now nine – Aftershock PC has added two desktop computer models as well as an option for users to get their machines spray-painted with automotive paint. This is the same paint that goes onto luxury cars like BMWs and Lamborghinis.
“I guess we’re doing great,” marketing director Joe Wee says. “The views on our website are through the roof and our web traffic and enquiries have grown threefold.” He says that Aftershock will start bringing in peripherals as well as monitors via partners, and expand its product lines as it grows.
How it all started
Offices for Joe and Marcus Wee at their new place.
Aftershock PC was founded by Joe Wee, his twin brother Marcus Wee, and partner Lam Ziyuan. They wanted to build gaming laptops because Joe and Marcus studied in boarding schools growing up, and laptops were the best way for them to get their PC gaming fix, as it was easy to carry them to-and-from different countries.
One day, Marcus bought a custom laptop from the US and was impressed with the service and the product. “He’s always been obsessed with tech stuff,” Joe says.
At that time, Joe was in New Zealand on a working holiday. He had spent two years prior to that in the corporate world, and decided that the culture there really wasn’t his thing. Marcus asked him to come back and help with marketing the brand, and he did.
Making it big, then going bigger
The place PC gaming dreams are fulfilled.
Aftershock PC’s ultimate goal has always been to be the number one custom laptop brand in Singapore. While they don’t have the data to prove it, the steadily growing influence of the Aftershock brand among local gamers is testament to its popularity. However, Joe feels the Singapore market is still teeming with opportunity, never mind that Aftershock already has a retail branch in Vietnam and a now a full retail and service hub in Malaysia.
See: Aftershock PC custom gaming notebooks now available in Vietnam
“We’re still trying to move into the corporate sector,” he says of the little red dot. “We’re going to launch a new product – a laptop with a desktop CPU. This has never been a mainstream thing, because laptops usually have the mobile version of graphic cards, processors, and other components.
“With a full-size desktop CPU, performance can be up to three times faster. Corporate customers may find it useful to have such powerful computers in a transportable form.”
Joe adds that when corporate customers buy, they buy multiple units at a go. Corporate relationships, once set up, also don’t waver, and your repeat customers are set. “It’s just a huge market,” he says. While Aftershock PC is primarily a gaming laptop brand, its laptops don’t necessarily have to be used for gaming. Graphic designers, video editors, and even programmers benefit from the powerful laptops Aftershock is able to provide. Aftershock previously had a laptop known as the Aftershock Halo, which was designed specifically for corporate customers.
Exclusivity
A behind-the-scenes look at the assembly line at Aftershock PC.
While you won’t see Aftershock pumping cash into the research and development (R&D) sector, its close relationships with suppliers have given Marcus and Joe more input in what goes into their computers.
“We used to just buy parts, but now we work with the suppliers,” Joe says. “We work very closely with original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to help with some of the product direction.”
Marcus, the technical guy at Aftershock, is able to give feedback and influence design. Both of them fly overseas on occasion to assist with R&D.
“Marcus may say this notebook doesn’t need this drive, or you can work on the cooling this way. He also helps implement new features.” Joe himself works on the aesthetics of the machines.
Moving forward
Aftershock PC’s growth is skyrocketing, but Joe says Marcus and himself never thought of investors. “We wanted to have full control of everything, and we didn’t need investors. We were self-funded with some investment from family, and now we’re fully self-sustainable.”
“It’s not just about making money,” he adds. “It’s fun, it’s a competition. You compete against all the giants and you win them – that’s a good feeling.”
Still, don’t expect the brand to charge headlong into yet another country too soon. Joe says that he expects Malaysia to be a tough nut to crack, since there already are many notebook companies already in there. Gaming notebooks in Malaysia are also very cheap.
Aftershock PC burst onto the Singapore market as a complete unknown, and look where it is today. Something tells us it won’t be long before its success is replicated over the Causeway.
Aftershock computers can be purchased in Malaysia here or on its official website.
This post Singapore’s favorite custom gaming laptops launch in Malaysia appeared first on Tech in Asia.
Singapore’s favorite custom gaming laptops launch in Malaysia
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