Four hardware segments with different volumes, prices and margins — deliberately blended so no single segment carries the business.

Table 9. Notebook segments in Year 1 (base case). Accessories and services layer over all four.

Purchasing behaviour and acquisition

B2B segments (business, public sector, resellers) buy on relationship, availability and credit terms, and, once won, repeat predictably; this is the demand-de-risking core of the plan. Education buys in tenders and framework agreements, favouring warranty and simple RMA. Consumers buy on price, trust and availability, reached through e-commerce and retail partners. Roughly 62% of revenue is sold on B2B credit terms, which drives the receivables book modelled in Section 19.

Customer economics — acquisition cost versus lifetime value

The economics of the business are underwritten by the gap between what it costs to win a customer and what that customer is worth over the relationship. In the B2B segments, where a won account repeats for years and expands into accessories and services, that gap is wide, which is why the plan concentrates commercial effort there.

Table 10. Illustrative customer unit economics. B2B relationships repay their acquisition cost many times over.

Segment characteristics and behaviour

• Business / commercial: IT managers and procurement teams at mid-to-large firms; value ready-to-deploy fleets, warranty and terms; refresh on a 3–4 year cycle; the margin and services core.
• Public sector & education: tender- and framework-driven; require local presence, compliance and BBBEE credentials; volume anchor with simpler service needs.
• Resellers / VARs: buy on availability, price and credit to protect their own margin; a force-multiplier for reach without direct sales cost.
• Consumers: buy online and through retail partners on price, trust and warranty; breadth and brand rather than margin.