Print.IT Reseller - issue 56

01732 759725 18 OPINION ...continued copier market players adopted in order to increase their customer base and limit opportunities for their main competitors. Evans said: “HP had cash to burn since they split the business a few years ago and buying Apogee stops the competition from buying them. Also, it gives them a platform to push the placement on their A3 devices as they have not had the sales success that they would have probably liked to date. They have two completely diverse cultures, so it will be interesting to see how this acquisition goes.” Channel impact Apogee is a profitable and progressive dealership with strong capabilities in contractual printing services and solutions, an experienced leadership team and access to SMB and mid-market customers. This collaboration with HP will undoubtedly create a ripple effect on existing HP dealers as well as the wider market. Mark Smyth, Chief Operating Officer at Vision sees the move as creating further opportunity. He said: “As a current Gold HP Reseller, we have taken some time to analyse and consider the impacts of the Apogee acquisition on both the market and our business, and we see this creating further opportunity.” He added: “HP has outlined how this will work and we really need to see how it takes shape over the coming months and once the deal has completed at the close of this year.” Steve Hawkins, Chief Executive, at Xeretec says he believes much will hinge around what HP plans to do with this asset, and whether they will use this as a springboard to consolidate the UK channel, which is a clear opportunity for them. “I’m sure HP is working to address these challenges. In the meantime, an announcement of this scale may spur other manufacturers HP had cash to burn since they split the business a few years ago and buying Apogee stops the competition from buying them continued... A CLEVER MOVE “Like Brexit, nobody can know for sure. However, I believe from HP’s perspective this was a clever move following their Samsung print acquisition as they build toward being a core player in the A3 market. It will also strengthen their managed print services proposition. “Acquiring partners by vendors has been a strategy that has been played out previously by a number of other ‘copier’ centric brands such as Ricoh, Xerox and Kyocera.” Jamie Brothwell, General Manager Print, Exertis www.exertis.co.uk INTERESTING ONE TO WATCH “This one was certainly more of a surprise than other acquisitions, and as such I think it is difficult to see what the impact will be right now. Apogee’s IT services division was clearly part of the appeal for HP in my opinion, rather than acquiring a print only partner of similar size and stature, but I understand some of the concerns from other HP dealers in the channel. “There is no doubt that buying power and flexibility for Apogee will be stronger where HP solutions are concerned, and against an already forceful competitor in Apogee, other HP dealers may feel a little hard done by and unimpressed at strong competition becoming even stronger as a result of HP’s own actions. “HP will have a tough job calming nerves of dealers in some places, however the well-known loyalty of HP dealers in general works in their favour. The cultural integration between HP and Apogee will be an interesting one to watch over the next few years too.” John Gifford, Founder & Managing Director, Fiducia Strategic Consultancy www.fiduciaconsultancy.co.uk Mark Smyth Damien Evans