Andrew Colley
APRIL 12, 2005
Sydney-based GetData's RecoverMyFiles will be distributed to about 1000 retail stores across the US, including the high-profile CompUSA, Fry's Electronics and Micro Centre.
So far the company has distributed 7500 copies of the software, expected to retail for $US69.95 ($90).
Director of GetData Graham Henley, a former federal police officer, said RecoverMyFiles was already selling well in Japan's bricks-and-mortar retail software market.
Mr Henley said the software now has about 15 to 20 competitors on the internet but no competitors in the shrink-wrap software market.
The company said its entrance to the US retail market was a "massive breakthrough".
"Online we sell 55 per cent of our software to the people in the US," he said.
"There's a whole potential market for us that would never go on the internet and search for data recovery software."
Mr Henley said the software had generated $1.2 million in sales over the internet ahead of an anticipated deal to distribute the software to Wal-Mart during the Christmas holiday shopping season last year.
Mr Henley said the deal fell through because competition for shelf space over the Christmas period was too high.
"We still hope to go into Wal-Mart. We rely on our distributor over there to negotiate those deals and, at the time, he was pretty confident he would get in there. But it turned out it was just too competitive for the pre-Christmas launch," Mr Henley said.
He said that while there were fewer headaches involved in distributing software over the internet, the retail channel also removed a few pitfalls.
"At least once a week we dedicate time to go around and make sure the security software on our program hasn't been broken."