Singapore - 28 Apr, 2005 - HWM has done it again, it has been the fastest growing 3C title regionally and with recent accreditation from Se-ed Book Center in Thailand, there is little doubt that HWM has been rapidly growing region-wide without stopping for air.

In a recent Se-ed book center survey for all book sales in 2004, survey results discovered that HWM was positioned 3rd ahead of titles eLife and Extreme TECHNOLOGY. However, what amazed industry insiders and HWM country manager Yongyut Wongteerasoot was that HWM Thailand had only been in the Thai market for a single year and yet managed to achieve such outstanding sales in that time.

Se-Ed Book Center is the first organization to compile this database and officially share its findings- the overall circulation numbers across the publishing industry in Thaliand. Previously, surveys of this scale were bogged down by disparate research methodology and limited sample sizes; Se-Ed Book Center is the first to conduct a survey on a credible scale and sample.

The survey was limited to Bangkok and Metropolitan area as a result of difficulty in collecting the numbers in provincial areas and that most newspaper and publishing retailers still do not use the Barcode system to manage their databases. Furthermore, to overcome the lack of kiosk sale data, Se-Ed Book Center cooperated with Kanda Supply Co. Ltd., the biggest newspaper and magazine distributor to collect the missing data. This cooperative effort yielded a combined database of over 500 shops and kiosks, more than 600 million baht in value, creating the largest database in Thailand. The data was collected over a series of 3 months (October - December 2004), with figures calculated in aggregate in consideration of differences in frequency of issuance- periodically, fortnightly, weekly or monthly.

In accepting 3rd position accreditation, Yongyut expressed his surprise that despite of HWM being only in the market for one year, it still managed to garner the readership that put it ahead other older titles. "There was little doubt to the strength in editorial content and design that led consumers and techies alike to recognize that HWM did indeed bestow them 'The Power to Decide'. HWM has always displayed it's dominance as a leading 3C magazine in countries like Singapore and I felt that there was little doubt that HWM would, in time, be the leading 3C magazine in Thailand." Said Yongyut.

Upon hearing the news, Dr. Jackie Lee, CEO and one of the founders of Hardware Zone Pte Ltd said, "This accreditation shows unequivocally our editorial quality and integrity- HWM has the right mix of reviews and product shootouts that address the Thailand market's readers." He continued, "It leaves me no doubt that as HWM continues to mature and establish itself in the 3C publishing landscape that HWM would soon be the leading 3C magazine in Thailand."