Dutch ado about Landis in furore over UK office

Dutch distributor Landis has been spurned by major vendors which have expressed reservations about supporting its attempts to set up a UK office.

Bay Networks and Cisco, which sell through Landis in Holland and Germany, have spoken out regarding the distributor's intentions to sell in the UK without signing a separate distribution agreement.

Graham Allen, UK managing director at Bay Networks, said: 'Being European doesn't give it global rights.' He said Bay would not rule out talking to Landis but said: 'It will be an uphill struggle without our support.'

Richard Bradley, channel sales director at Cisco, also said he would talk to the distributor. 'Anybody in the EC can sell to whoever they like but there is also a point of law where business cannot be solicited outside a territory - this is a standard in most Cisco contracts.'

Landis was due to launch in the UK at the beginning of November. But it has been pushed back to the middle of the month due to employees, including Tina Heron, Azlan account manager specialist and Guy Costa, Bay account manager at Ilion, working out notice periods.

Roger Paul, managing director at Landis, admitted no UK distribution contracts had been signed and said products would be shipped into the UK from the head office in Holland.

Wayne Channon, chairman of Ilion, said: 'It will be impossible for it to be successful with no backing and with grey imported products.'