Microtech is an Italian OEM of notebooks, tablets, mini-PCs, VR visors and other IT high technology devices produced in Italy (HQ and Production in the outskirts of Milan) and has also created a revolutionary platform to configure Gaming PCs called LudiX. Microtech in the last three years has been able to produce and market over 150,000 devices conveyed both on the retail and B2B (wholesale) channels, developing around 20 million in revenues in 2021 alone.
The company is a beautiful all-Italian reality, made up of a close-knit team of girls and boys who love their work and who have chosen to stay in Italy and innovate even though they operate in a difficult and hyper-competitive sector such as technology. They like to consider themselves as healthy bearers of good Italian taste in terms of design and hardware.
Interview with Fabio Rifici, Founder & CEO of Microtech.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Fabio Rifici: On top of the mainstream production of technological devices, the company has created LudiX a configuration platform of Gaming desktop PCs, powered by AI, that allows the end-user to build “tailor-made” gaming PCs. The platform name, Ludix, is as a combination of the Latin word ludus which means game and the letter X, which in computer science indicates graphics. So, LudiX is a word that lives between past and future. LudiX is a digital solution that can be used by Retail, B2B and B2C customers to request the construction of a gaming PC that reflects the wishes of the end users and fully meets their expectations. LudiX allows the large-scale retail to significantly reduce, if not completely remove, the current stock-centric approach, moving rather towards a customer-centric approach, focused on the needs of the customer who receives a tailor-made, completely customized product that Microtech assembles and ships within 3 to 5 working days using only the best partners (Asus, MIS, Nvidia, Intel, Amd, …) and latest releases.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
F.R: The platform LudiX is offered white label to Electronic Retail Chains and embedded in their selling channels allowing them to compete in a huge market (the so-called DIY “Do-It-Yourself”) that wasn’t open for their business model. Taking advantage of artificial intelligence and machine learning, LudiX offers over 5 trillion combinations and soon will escalate to 10 million. It operates in the web and through digital vending machines in-store. Currently the Italian website of the global store chain GameStop (GameStop is present in around 10 countries worldwide with approx. 4,500 stores, 270 of which in Italy alone) is offering the service powered by LudiX; LudiX is also present in over 120 stores of MediaWorld (group MediaMarkt-Saturn) and in selected Expert and Euronics stores. Microtech is furthermore negotiating with important interlocutors internationally: in Scandinavia, Romania, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Hungary and the GCC area.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
F.R: The production of Laptops, Tablets, Gaming PCs, Workstations, VR visors (and content) and Educational IT devices (interactive monitors and specifically conceived devices) are still the core business. The products are sold in retail chains, Microtech website and Amazon brand stores in Italy, France and Germany. Educational products are listed and offered through public and private tenders to institutions. The company is now pivoting to the made-to-oder model of the LudiX platform. Currently, when you enter a specialized large-scale retail store, there is no possibility of ordering a gaming PC according to your wishes and needs. We must accept what the shops have available in stock, probably ordered 4 or 5 months in advance and which could even be already obsolete. Thanks to the LudiX platform, dealer customers always have the most recent components available, with a technological transition time close to zero.
E.E: What is the state of the market where you are currently active? What can you tell us about market trends?
F.R: The Tech Markets are suffering after a huge growth experienced during pandemic. The pressure on promotion, also coming from important brands given the stock their sitting on, has created a huge decline on margins. People are not tired of technology but have certainly amassed relatively new products in their homes and even the new needs created by smart-working or distant schooling are met, the demand cannot cope with the forecasts imagined in early 2022. We expect the curve to show signs of recovery but not get back to the level of 2020-21 very soon.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
F.R: The LudiX platform is a revolutionary product that can open a completely new market for Retail chains and inaugurate an innovative business model: natively “omnichannel” and based on actual demand. We believe it can be a boost to engage Gamers and bring them in Retail stores and can also be applied to standard PCs, workstations and even laptops, these are the next steps we envisage.
In our mainstream line of products, the company just launched two new tablets E-tab Pro 10.1” and E-tab Pro Plus 12.6” that are incredibly versatile and offered with accessories making them the perfect companions for work, study or fun. The company also developed its own Operating System, based on kernel Linus, called LiberOS to offer a smart, innovative and open-source way to operate. It contains the gene of simplicity in its DNA and eliminates all that is superfluous and complex to use. It is the human interface for all of us, pleasant and elementary in daily use and full of integrated features in an intelligent and practical way.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the beginning of 2024?
F.R: We do not believe, in general, the market will flourish again but we see very positive signs. Looking only to Microtech, 2024 will be a decisive year: the adoption of LudiX from the vast majority of Retail chain and its growth into a well-know and appreciated new way of purchase for consumers around the world is a target perfectly achievable.