Print.IT Reseller - issue 56

01732 759725 OPINION 20 into reviewing their channel and growth strategies, so it’ll be interesting to observe how they respond to this development,” he said. Evans believes it’s too early to see how this will affect HP channel business. “However it would be a major own goal if HP disrupted their channel business as Apogee will never achieve the HP sales numbers that the channel does for them currently and in the future,” he noted. “Some dealers are understandably nervous that Apogee may get preferential treatment and may look at alternative vendors. If the dealers are professional and work hard they can still have success selling HP products and services,” Evans added. Dealers’ scepticism “My gut feel is that HP will have to overcome dealers’ scepticism that the acquisition of Apogee has made them a competitor, if the channel is to continue as before,” said Phil Madders, Managing Director, Print Audit Europe. “I am betting that every competitive OEM is pointing this out at every opportunity, as they scramble to repair the damage done to their own sales channel.” Conversely, Julian Stafford, Managing Director at Midshire Business Systems Northern argues that HP’s acquisition of Apogee will in the long-term assist the other HP dealers. “It will accelerate HP’s change from their current transactional model to a more contractual one. In the short-term I think HP and Apogee will be very busy just getting to know each other… it’s going to be interesting to watch from the sidelines,” he commented. Speaking to the wider market impact, Madders said: “I am not sure it will affect it too much – ordering a HP printer from Staples website will still continue as before as they are not interacting with the HP dealer community directly.” www.visionplc.co.uk www.systemstechnology.co.uk www.commercial.co.uk www.zenoffice.com www.midshire.co.uk www.paebusiness.com HP will have to overcome dealers’ scepticism that the acquisition of Apogee has made them a competitor ...continued MAJOR ON THEIR OWN OFFERING “As we have seen with other manufacturer-led acquisitions, at some point the new owner will want their acquisition to major on their own offering. It is therefore likely that this will result in HP resellers competing against Apogee.” Shaun Wilkinson, Managing Director, UTAX www.utaxuk.co.uk MAKES PERSONAL SERVICE MORE RELEVANT “We prefer to focus on our own activities rather than comment on others. However, we view the news as positive for our business and authorised Develop dealers, as it makes a more personal service more relevant to the core market of SMBs, which makes up the vast majority of today’s marketplace.” Jonathan Whitworth, Managing Director, DSales www.dsales.eu THE OA CHANNEL “The HP brand holds a lot of gravitas generally. But traditionally, not so much as a core partner for the MFP (OA) channel, ultimately the question is how HP can accommodate the high service and support expectations of the MFP (OA) Channel. “HP is a strong player in the IT channel/transactional scene, and perhaps the partnership with Apogee will help educate HP further on the explicit demands and expectations of dealer principals from our OA Channel.” Elia Giovanni, Head of Marketing, Sharp Business Systems UK www.sharp.co.uk Julian Stafford Phil Madders