Hardwarezone: A Singaporean Success Story

Abstract

Hardwarezone.com is rated the top IT media Web site in Singapore by Hitwise, with more than 32 million page visits per month (Chellam, 2004). It provides 100% proprietary and localized content on IT news, product releases, and numerous member-centric services, such as hardware pricelists and forums. What started as a hobby for six undergraduates on an SGD $1,000 capital became a new-age media company with over SGD $200,000/month in advertising revenue and SGD $2 million in net assets within a short span of six years. Their success and continued growth today is exceptional, considering how most of its competitors and other dot-com ventures in Singapore have fallen by the wayside or stagnated after the dot-com crisis during mid-1999. This teaching case will chart the evolution of Hardwarezone’s business model and strategies through its humble beginnings and the challenges to the company as a result of the dot-com crisis and thereafter.