Atec to appoint a fourth UK distributor
Korean LCD TV manufacturer wants to strengthen its presence in the UK market
Korean LCD TV manufacturer Atec is looking to expand its presence in the UK with the appointment of a fourth UK distributor.
Atec has had a presence in the UK for about two years through ONEI Solutions, a channel brand-management company.
Garry Howard, sales director at ONEI Solutions, told CRN: “ONEI’s aim is to represent manufacturers that do not have a presence in the UK. Atec has been on board from the beginning. We do all of the sales, marketing and channel recruitment for it, and handle the accounts. Initially, Atec UK was run from our offices, but we have just opened headquarters for Atec UK in Lancashire.”
Atec’s TVs feature LCD panels from LG Philips and are distributed through Interface Solutions, Enta and VIP Computers in the UK.
“We have completely reviewed Atec UK’s channel over the past two months,” Howard said. “We want to get AV [audiovisual] VARs on board so we are looking to find a fourth distributor that can get us into AV and retail. We are in talks with Westcoast, Computer 2000 and Midwich. We hope to make an appointment by early Q4.
“We sell 1,000 units a month, but with our expansion plans we hope to increase this figure to 2,000 by end of Q4 or early 2007.”
Although Atec is ONEI’s only vendor, Howard said it is in talks with other manufacturers and it is about to launch a wireless TV product for “another Korean brand”.
Warren Hudson, marketing manager at Interface Solutions, said: “We’ve distributed Atec products for months. I’m impressed with Atec because it uses LG panels and the pricing has been aggressive. We don’t view the appointment of a fourth distributor as a bad thing. It will create more awareness of the brand in the UK.”
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