McAfee loss speeds Arc hardware switch
Distributor rebrands as Exclusive Networks a day after losing McAfee rights
Stuart Reay: We had a hefty human resource investment in McAfee
Arc Technology says the loss of its McAfee franchise will accelerate its transformation into a hardware-focused distributor as it rebrands itself under the Exclusive Networks banner.
Arc’s access to the McAfee portfolio ended yesterday after the security vendor opted to move from four to three UK distributors following a distribution review. Today, the Chesterfield-based firm rebrands itself as Exclusive Networks, 15 months after its acquisition by Exclusive Group.
Stuart Reay, managing director of Exclusive Networks UK, said: “We have been part of a pan-European entity for 15 months. This underpins that and starts to create an identity in the UK for Exclusive Networks.”
As its second-largest vendor, Reay admitted the loss of McAfee came as a setback.
However, he said the move had boosted its gross margins by five to seven per cent and has accelerated its goal of becoming hardware focused.
“We had a hefty human resource investment in McAfee, especially engineering,” he said.
“Those resources have been redeployed. Next year hardware will make up 75 per cent of our revenue so we should be operating along the same lines as the rest of Exclusive Group.”
Reay said the UK business was still on course for 30 per cent growth this year, with group sales on target to rise from €82m (£70m) to between €115m and €120m.