Word: apex
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There was a time, only about 15 years ago, when David Ji, co-founder of Apex Digital, the top-selling maker and importer of DVD players, couldn't rent a movie. When he was a graduate student and part-time house painter, Ji says, "I wanted a VCR, but I couldn't afford...
Until recently, many Americans felt the same way about a DVD player. The digital successor to the VCR was a luxury item, costing hundreds of dollars on average. But that was before Ji, 50, and his partner, Ancle Hsu, 41, burst into the home-electronics market. Since Apex introduced its first model in early 2000, for $179, the price of DVD players has plummeted. Apex, based in Ontario, Calif., remains a low-price leader, with its basic units now selling for about $59 at large retailers like Circuit City and Wal-Mart. The fledgling company has captured...
...meteoric rise of Apex Digital, expected to exceed $1 billion in sales in 2002, has stunned the industry. Says Richard Doherty, research director for the Envisioneering Group, a technology consultancy located in Seaford, N.Y.: "This is a true overnight success story...
...Apex quickly fixed the problem, but by then the brand had developed a certain rogue hipness among illicit copiers of films on DVD. "We noticed on our website that a lot of people were searching for Apex," says Rick Souder, a Circuit City vice president. But the key to Apex's rapid growth was its rock-bottom prices, which were achieved by working closely with low-cost Chinese producers, accepting slim profit margins and skimping on advertising...
...expanding the Apex brand. They launched a television line earlier this year and are looking into digital cameras and air conditioners. Both men rack up loads of frequent-flyer miles across the Pacific. "I'm much busier than I want to be," says Hsu, the father of a girl, 8, and a boy, 4. He likes to spend his downtime watching cartoons with the kids and teaching his daughter to roller-skate...