PC Maker ASUS Teams With RCS

NEW YORK— ASUS Computer International opened its first retail showcase in partnership with RCS Computer Experience, here, last week.

The 600-square-foot area is located on the main floor of RCS' Madison Avenue shop and, in a nod toward the company's environmental efforts, is constructed primarily out of bamboo, said Cher Chronis, ASUS' marketing director. The area will be used to display the company's current product line up and as a platform to launch new products into retail.

"We wanted to be able to offer an insight into ASUS and we are focusing now on building our U.S. retail image," Chronis said.

While ASUS has no immediate plan to open selling areas in other retailers, it does want to expand its U.S. retail presence. The company has sold through RCS for the past year and has a limited presence in other retailers, including Best Buy and Datavision, but can mainly be found online at Costco.com, Target.com and Buy.com, she said.

The ASUS store is to be manned by two RCS staffers, and the company's area sales representative will also pitch in, Chronis said.

The ASUS area features about eight notebook computers, plus the company's latest 22-inch LCD computer monitor. In its center was a tubular, glass enclosure where the company was showing its latest concept notebook, the eco-book. Like the ASUS store, it too is made partially of bamboo with the notebook's outer covering and wrist rest made of the hardy grass.

Chronis said the eco-book is still undergoing testing to see if using bamboo as a construction material is viable, and, if so, it could become available next year. The notebook is based on an ASUS S6 model laptop.