Tashika deals £59 33.6 modems, £99 multimedia kits

"Rather than fighting the Watford Electronics and Technomatics of this world by selling for 20 pence less [for branded goods], we thought we could really slash the price by doing our own deals," said Steve Bennett, managing director of the mail-order and retail firm.

The brand is called Tashika (Japanese for "quality") and initial products include 33.6kbits/sec modems at £59 for an internal version or £64 for an external device, and a multimedia kit comprising Aztech eight-speed CD-ROM drive, Aztech 16-bit sound card, headset and microphone for £99 (£109 with 12-speed CD-ROM).

Separately, Bennett said he hopes to open 12 new stores this year, doubling the current total. The company aims to rake in £105 million in revenues for 1997 with the help of a new PC line commencing in March.

Software Warehouse can be contacted by telephone on 01675-466467.