Printerland and Ricoh forge alliance to grow sales

Kight: Ricoh bridges a gap to the high-end market

Cheshire reseller Printerland has teamed up with Ricoh to bridge the gap between the copier and printer markets, as well as cooperate on a range of initiatives.

James Kight, director at Printerland, said the brand ticked many boxes, including environmental friendliness and an ability to facilitate the reseller’s expansion in the public sector, especially education, and push into higher-end sales.

“It is not just about selling printers, but forming a strategic partnership, which is really what excites me,” he said. “We will be doing a lot of co-branding and marketing for the two companies. Programmes will be rolled out, and we will be working together in our demonstration facility in Cheshire.”

Kight said Ricoh genuinely offers something different to customers from the VAR’s other 12 vendors, such as its unique GelSprinters range. Ricoh’s GelSprinters are energy efficient and cut down on environmental waste.

Ricoh’s managed Click programme will be out in April.

“They are offering a lot of things that our customers are asking for,” Kight said. “They have got a really strong range, right across the board.”

The new strategic alliance will bring Ricoh product to Printerland’s 100,000 customers. Ricoh has the team, range and resources to complement those of Printerland, he said.

Richard Allison, channel director at Ricoh, said the vendor was impressed by the way Printerland is managed.

“Printerland has a fantastic track record of developing business with new vendors,” Allison said. “It is a difficult phase we are going through, yet they are achieving growth.”

Allison said Ricoh is looking forward to cultivating a “very strong” relationship with the VAR over the next few years, especially as the Click service is launched.