'There isn't anyone like Achab in the UK' - MD of distie newcomer on launching into UK market

MD Phil Sansom on bringing Italian distributors’ model to UK MSPs

Italian distributor Achab is planning to break several new vendors into the UK this year after expanding into the market earlier this week.

Milan-based distributor Achab announced yesterday that it has expanded into the UK with a new office in Reading.

The firm launched with two vendors - anti-phishing firm Cyberfish and secure workplace vendor Cameyo - adding that it is actively growing its vendor base in the UK.

Achab hired former IT Glue and Datto exec Phil Sansom to lead its UK expansion efforts.

The distributor, which claims to sell to more than 1,800 MSP partners in Italy, is a €9.2m-revenue outfit which employs around 28 staff in its home country.

Speaking to CRN, Sansom believes that the MSP market is being vastly underserved by the UK's existing distributors and that there's a gap in the market for a purely MSP-focused player.

"I genuinely don't see an Achab-type distributor in the UK. There are some distributors serving the MSP market but not in the same way as I feel Achab does," he said.

"In Italy, a lot of Achab's partners buy everything from them. They have maybe 200 partners of their 1,800 base that buy every single product from them to take to market - just because of the way they work with them and support them.

"That's what we're trying to replicate in the UK market. We want that relationship with the MSPs where they come to us."

Achab UK MD Phil Sansom

Achab's UK team consists of four staff today, which Sansom hopes to grow to about 10 to 15 employees before the end of the year. He then has an ambition to double that figure before the end of 2022.

"It's pretty rapid growth but sensible growth," he said.

"We're looking to hire two or three sales people immediately and then we will look to build that team out as we go."

The UK MD said he's already in advanced conversations to onboard three or four more vendors this year. He said that the ideal vendor for Achab would be one with no presence in the UK market that looks to distribution for exposure to the MSP parket.

Despite the Covid pandemic, new vendors are eager to break into the UK market, claims Sansom, and are now turning to distributors as a safe-bet option for expaning their businesses.

"I've spoken to many vendors in the past that have been looking to go to the UK, and a number of them have just stalled that plan because of the pandemic and all of the challenges that's brought. They've perhaps just focused on the North American market and viewed EMEA expansion as something for further down the line. So Achab in that regard offers a perfect solution, because it's pretty much risk-free from that point of view," he added.