A lesson in staying power from Westcoast
Surviving 25 years in IT distribution is no mean feat. But next month will see Westcoast blow out the candles on its 25th-birthday cake. Sara Yirrell finds out more
Tatham: Broadline not the only successful approach
Not many channel businesses can claim humble beginnings on a pirate ship but Westcoastis the exception to the rule. Celebrating its 25th anniversary next month, the Theale-based distributor, which has the accolade of being HP’s longest-serving distribution partner in the UK, can do just that.
Still privately owned by entrepreneur Joe Hemani, the company’s name was conceived through his job as a pirate radio DJ. Anchored somewhere off the west coast of America, Hemani otherwise known as ‘DJ Dark Prince - Taking You Through The Wee Small Hours’ was spinning some tunes on pirate radio station 390.
He decided on a whim to put in an order for some Canon line printers, and the size of the order caused the then boss of Canon to phone him up and ask what his company was called.
Looking out of the ship’s window, Hemani thought on his feet and blurted out “Westcoast”. The name has stuck ever since.
Strong relationships
That first order helped the fledgling distributor to hit £1m turnover in its first year of trading. It signed HP as a vendor partner the following year and, 24 years later, that particular relationship is still going strong.
In its early years, the company operated from an abandoned Del Monte warehouse near junction 11 of the M4, and employed three people. Twenty-five years later it employs 700 people, and is set to hit £1bn turnover. It sells to 3,500 resellers in the UK every quarter.
Hemani said: “We had tins of peaches and pears lying around the place next to our boxed printers. I’m sure some people received some extra tins in with their order in those days.”
Westcoast moved to existing premises in Theale about five years ago and has made four moves in its 25-year history to accommodate its expansion.
It has also made a string of acquisitions in recent years including Orion Distribution and hybrid reseller/distributor XMA. It also branched out to Ireland with its acquisition of Clarity Distribution.
“I would say the biggest success is that we are still around and profitable. We have made some great friends with customers, suppliers, resellers and staff,” said Hemani.
“The surprising element is the success that we have enjoyed. Unlike some people who know where they are going to be in so many years’ time, I didn’t have a clue. I just wanted to run my own business and be independent.
“The success is really down to the people that work at Westcoast,” he added. “I have 25-year veterans that are still working here, and that for me is the biggest success of them all.”
Alex Tatham, sales and marketing director at Westcoast, said: “If you look at distribution over the past 25 years, it has changed dramatically. Technology was such a maverick business back then and the margin on hardware was incredible.”
“We are still thriving. The business feels resilient in the face of the economy and it genuinely has a propensity to be liked by customers and by its small number of vendors.
"Some say the way to get rich in distribution is to adopt the broadline model and sign everybody. But our way is to stay very close to our vendor partners and make sure we can really execute on that particular vendor’s strategy in a cost-effective way. It also helps that we have had a very supportive bank behind us for the past 25 years.”
To celebrate its milestone, the distributor is launching a wave of initiatives including 25 new channel offers in 25 days and a special 25-year web site.
Looking to the future
Looking ahead, the distributor certainly plans to be around for the next 25 years.
“One of our goals is to bring the efficiencies of the IT supply chain into the office supplies chain,” said Tatham. “The two channels are definitely converging.”
Westcoast plans to start with ink supplies, but is not against branching out into other office supplies in the future.
“If you look at other directions Westcoast can go in, we are very strong in retail as well and can definitely get deeper into that. We also don’t supply games or consoles at the moment, or other goods such as TVs,” added Tatham.
“Rather than continually expanding the number of vendors that we work with in the IT area, we are looking at expanding the number of customers that we reach by offering a bigger variety of existing vendor product. We definitely have a direction and know where we are heading.”