Apple?s channel left in confusion

Macintosh channel set for uncertain period as key member of indirect sales team ups stumps

Macintosh resellers are bracing themselves for confusion after channel director Terry Martin revealed he was leaving Apple at the end of the month to join Samsung.

His departure comes only weeks after Apple lost indirect sales manager Ed Ewing, whose responsibilities were passed to Martin. Martin was promoted from sales manager to sales director to reflect his extra responsibilities, but he will now join Samsung as sales director at the end of May.

Martin said he was leaving ?to find some new challenges? and he would be ?very sorry? to leave the manufacturer.

Steve Rush, marketing manager at Rapid Group, expressed regret at Martin?s move: ?I?ll be sorry to see him go. Terry has been a very competent member of the Apple team, and there?s no obvious replacement.?

Another dealer said: ?He?s about the only person left in Apple?s channel with his head screwed on. It will cause a shake-up.?

Meanwhile, Apple performed a U-turn on its latest restructure by renewing a direct supply relationship with some of its mail-order companies. Last September, Apple forced its off-the-page mail-order resellers to source kit from distributors. Its 10 biggest indirect resellers will now have a dedicated account manager, Nigel Boatswain.

Apple UK MD Jon Molyneux denied the move was an admission of failure. ?We?ve reformed the links on a personal level. There will be no change to terms and conditions.?

The move comes as Apple appointed four regional sales managers to manage the relationships with its top 50 dealers. Distributor accounts will be handled by Carol Goodwin and Karen Simidian.

Apple has finally released details of its UK restructure: there are 16 redundancies, taking its headcount down to 118. Its marketing operations have been merged under the leadership of Alan Hely, who was promoted to marketing director.