01732 759725 36 DEALER PROFILE As Oyster celebrates its 40th year in business, Michelle Ryder caught up with Managing Director Richard Harris to discuss his plans for the future Traditional service with a forward thinking innovative approach acquisition, I realised the corporate world, red tape and restrictive nature of a large organisation wasn’t for me and in 2019, I was at a crossroads - do I move on, set up on my own or acquire an already established business?” In light of the fact the market was consolidating, and acquisitions were continuing at pace, Harris made the decision not to move on. “I looked at companies that would potentially be a good fit for me and soon realised that they too could well be acquired, which meant I’d be back in the same position further down the line,” he said. “Instead, I chose to bide my time and look into acquiring an established business that I could develop and grow.” History and credibility After looking for the right opportunity, Harris came across Midlands-based Oyster. “I was looking for a certain type of business – one that I could put my own stamp on and take to the next level. I wanted a company with a strong history and credibility to enable me to attract both good people and customers. Oyster ticked all of the boxes, it had a 35-year heritage, was very well run and had a great customer base.” Harris acquired the business in November 2019 – a few short months before the pandemic hit. “With Oyster I had an established business, one with a strong heritage and brand name; that provided me with a powerful platform to build a team, to invite good people to join me and embark on a journey together,” he explained. Harris points out that Oyster is a forward thinking technology reseller. “We're a business that sells technology, hardware and software solutions, and from day one we adopted a forward thinking innovative approach, but our goal was always to also deliver traditional, good quality service.” He continued: “As a business we have to be modern and efficient, and we have to leverage all of the technology available to us. For example, we offer remote monitoring capabilities and a device portal for customers to log calls 24/7 but we also can't ignore the fact that there are some customers who prefer to pick up the phone and have a personal contact. “Each and every one of the team from admin, service technicians, to the sales account managers are all committed to providing excellent customer service. There's accountability across the group. For me, it's been about positioning the business as independent, agile and flexible, and making sure we offer customers the best technology and software on the market, combined with the best service and support. I suppose you could describe it as providing traditional customer service but with a modern twist,” he added. Growth success Harris notes that acquiring the Oyster business provided him with a fantastic base which he could re-energise. “The business was extremely well managed and continued to steadily thrive despite the constant backdrop of M&A activity, Richard Harris has racked up more than 25 years in the industry. After leaving school in the late 90s, he began his career selling copiers working in a number of small dealerships, he also worked for Konica Minolta, before joining Balreed in 2009. “I was there for ten years, through both the Apogee and ultimately HP acquisitions and that experience was invaluable and indeed instrumental in shaping me as an individual and my decision to move forward. Post Richard Harris
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