IQon Technologies falls in retail battle with Dell

Dell’s recent assault on the retail channel has claimed its first casualty in the form of Irish PC assembler IQon Technologies.

Dundalk-based IQon entered examinership ­ the Irish equivalent of administration ­ in November, but it was hoped a rescue plan involving a mystery French investor would keep it alive (CRN, 5 November). However, the firm was liquidated on 22 January after the plans collapsed.

Nigel O’Keeff, senior accountant at IQon’s examiner, Michael McAteer, told CRN: “In the end, the investor became wary of market competition. The announcement before Christmas that Dell will be supplying to Tesco did not help.”

O’Keeff revealed that Michael McAteer has re-employed about 40 of IQon’s 103 staff to help with warranties and post-sales support.

The accountant plans to seek buyers for the firm’s assets, which it is currently evaluating.
“The priority is to bring in debts to pay the creditors, so we still have warranty and after-sales services up and running,” O’Keeff explained. “A log of the assets is being carried out. A sale is possible, but we cannot do much until the valuation is done.”

O’Keeff said it is as yet unclear how much IQon’s assets are worth and how much creditors are owed.
Nick Smith, marketing director at system builder Elonex, said: “Competing head to head with the likes of Dell is a dangerous game. If the tier ones want the business, they can afford to buy it and do not necessarily need to make a profit. “There is no room left for any company that does not have a unique product.”