Rock gaming laptops cease trading....

[Biker]

story here

News story of idiot that caused it here

[happychappy]

What a terrible shame..

[stocius]

What a terrible shame..

I agree...just one employee did all that damage...

[thenrz]

That's crazy. It seems as though you'd have to try to screw things up that badly...

[YukonTrooper]

Ouch, that's rough. Was this a pretty big gig in the States?

[stocius]

Ouch, that's rough. Was this a pretty big gig in the States?

No, can't think of anyone who's heard outside of a friend of mine in the biz. They buy the Clevos rebranded as Alienware and Sager over here.

[initialised]

It looks like Paul Bicknell (the former employee) has single handedly brought down the company.

Addict stole £200,000 from work

Gambler blew £200,000 of his employer's money

Also from 'The Courrier'


Three years for thief

[nn_step]

I agree...just one employee did all that damage...

yes, small companies can be extremely damaged by even a single bad employee.

[WeStSiDePLaYa]

If 200 000 pounds is enough to tank that business, you would think it would have gotten noticed much quicker.

[Kai Robinson]

That sucks - i always liked Rock...they did some damn good systems. I hope they get some investment to keep going - hell, even a venture capitalist would be a good idea.

[Kai Robinson]

If 200 000 pounds is enough to tank that business, you would think it would have gotten noticed much quicker.

The reason given on their homepage is here:

Reasons for the failure of the business

The failure of Rock is partly attributed to the cash flow difficulties faced as a result of stock misappropriation by a former employee. This led to suppliers reducing credit limits, further adversely impacting upon cash flows. As a result of the recent difficulties faced by Rock in obtaining regular supplies of key components, Rock had effectively ceased to trade prior to the Administrators appointment.

Siphoning off funds isnt easily noticeable, especially if you're not looking for it.

[Biker]

If 200 000 pounds is enough to tank that business, you would think it would have gotten noticed much quicker.

You may not be able to get a decent one-bedroom flat in London for that much these days, but in the world of IT, this can be enough to turn a going concern into a closing down sale. Rock met what has become a very predictable fate for computer vendors – its credit lines were reduced to virtually nothing....

With computer components costing so much, and requiring such a quick turnaround to maintain their value, large amounts of credit are required for retail businesses. Without it, you simply can’t trade, as you can’t build systems at the volume your business requires...


There are more rumblings about Rocks demise which are being hidden by the much more public syphoning off of payments, but nothing confirmed as yet, so it is not worth speculating upon further at present.

[Nuker_]

Poor them! I have always wanted a DTR Rock laptop, they rock!

[NotFred]

You may not be able to get a decent one-bedroom flat in London for that much these days, but in the world of IT, this can be enough to turn a going concern into a closing down sale. Rock met what has become a very predictable fate for computer vendors – its credit lines were reduced to virtually nothing....

With computer components costing so much, and requiring such a quick turnaround to maintain their value, large amounts of credit are required for retail businesses. Without it, you simply can’t trade, as you can’t build systems at the volume your business requires...


There are more rumblings about Rocks demise which are being hidden by the much more public syphoning off of payments, but nothing confirmed as yet, so it is not worth speculating upon further at present.

That seems to be a direct quote from CPCs article on this.

Full article here Clicky

[WeStSiDePLaYa]

That seems to be a direct quote from CPCs article on this.

Full article here Clicky

Lol. Plagiarism.

[Biker]

Lol. Plagiarism.

The first two paragraphs are pretty much a quote but plagiarism?...

This is reporting a news story not an excuse to troll.

Anyway I was drunk when I posted the follow up and it is obvious where the source material is to anyone who clicks on the story link in post #1 and reads the follow up...

Grow up please.

[initialised]

That seems to be a direct quote from CPCs article on this.

Full article here Clicky

And CPCs follow up article is pretty much copy'n'paste of the links I posted here and there.

[initialised]

: Outstanding preorders and warranties to be honoured as Stone Group buys laptop maker

Good news for owners of Rock notebooks. It has been less than two weeks since the company announced it was going into administration, citing financially crippling actions by a former employee. Now Rock has announced it has already found a buyer, in the shape of the Stone Group. In its original statement, Rock had expressed hope its business could be sold as a going concern. This appears to be what has happened.

For an ‘undisclosed sum’, Stone has purchased the trade and assets of Rock. As well as being able to offer Rock’s range to its own customers, Stone will ‘fully back the Rock brand going forward’, which will allow it to continue developing Rock notebooks and honour existing warranties. So if you had an order in with Rock just before it went into administration, the process could be back on track. And current Rock owners will be able to get their notebooks fixed if they go wrong.

Former Rock Chief Executive Nick Boardman has underlined this, saying ‘it is vital that customers’ historic warranties will be supported going forward. Everyone can continue to buy Rock products with confidence.’

In a separate statement, Dominic Wong, Joint Administrator from Deloitte & Touche LLP, indicated that the sale would also preserve staff employment at Rock. It’s particularly good news for Boardman, who will be moving over to the Stone Group board as director of its mobile technology division.

Staffordshire-based Stone Computers focuses on the public sector, and already employs over 200 people. According to Stone’s website, the company sold 40,000 PCs last year and cites 500 UK schools, colleges and universities as regular clients.

Source

[Kai Robinson]

Stone buys Rock eh? The irony...

[TedShred]

Maybe scissors will counter-offer?

edit: make that paper

[initialised]

Stone buys Rock eh? The irony...

Hmmm... volume Uni/School/Medical (i.e volume/corporate) laptop manufacturer buys gaming laptop company. Like that's going to work out long term.

I wonder if Pebble will by Stone when they are on the rocks (pun intended)?

Better get your gaming laptops from us at CyberPowerUK. I build most of them, and as our wallpaper tag says, 'We are mint'!