Compaq rebate scheme unlikely to reach UK

Compaq US is to fire a new volley in the PC price war, but admitted that the benefits are unlikely to reach the UK.

Compaq US is to fire a new volley in the PC price war, but admitted that the benefits are unlikely to reach the UK.

In a scheme dubbed Targeted Opportunity Sales Support, the company is to offer resellers rebates up front on products purchased directly from the vendor. It will also eliminate shipping charges and offer five days of price protection.

Orders which resellers place through distributors will remain unchanged, and rebates will only be paid once a reseller has a confirmed sale. Compaq has previously been criticised for this second payment scheme, and paying rebates up front for direct sales has unsettled some distributors.

Steve Raymund, chairman at Tech Data, sees the pitfalls in a programme that favoured vendors over distributors. "We must recognise that Compaq is in the middle of a brutal price war. But we're concerned about any vendor's strategy that excludes our participation," he said.

Mike Morgan, Compaq's channel sales director, explained that the scheme was unlikely to surface in the UK. "In the US, Compaq bought Inacom to give it a made-to-order model so it could ship to the channel directly. I know of no plans to set up such a model in the UK," he said.