GTDC: Distribution is leading IT sector recovery

Heading North: Sales through distribution in the US and Europe are continuing to increase

Sales through distribution are continuing to increase in both the US and Europe, according to the latest sales figures from the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC).

Sales of hardware in the second quarter of 2010 increased by 10 per cent in the US compared to Q1 and by more than 20 per cent if compared with Q2 2009. Sales in Europe increase 15 per cent compared to the previous year and remained in line with seasonality trends, the GTDC claimed.

Figures are based on the sales out results of its members aggregated in the NPD Group’s Distributor Track in the US and Context SalesWatch in Europe.

Tim Curran, chief executive of the GTDC, said: “Businesses are clearly spending more on a broad range of IT products and solutions. Second-quarter US distribution industry sales increased steadily across many product categories that are now exceeding the peak levels achieved prior to when the downturn hit in September 2008. In Europe, June sales finished up 20 per cent over the same period last year."

Curran said the trends emerging include SME and larger enterprises investing “more heavily” in networking, storage and other IT infrastructure to support current and future growth.

“The range of solutions and services provided by IT distributors is also increasingly diversified, including a growing number of products that would have sold exclusively through other channels in the past.

“Businesses are transforming,” Curran added. “And so is the face of IT distribution. Companies of all sizes are mobilising their workforces in new ways while striving to improve both group and personal productivity throughout their operations.

“This dynanic movement is evident from both the sales-out data and product portfolios of today’s leading IT distributors across the world.”