Storm defies market pattern

Storage distributor Storm has posted a record year-end profit of £3.3m, bucking the trend of many struggling channel companies.

In the year ended 31 March, pre-tax profit increased by 22 percent from last year's figure of £2.7m. Revenue increased 25 percent from £61m to £77m, largely due to an agreement signed with Sun last year making Storm a master reseller for its storage products.

The agreement, which sees Storm as Sun's only specialised storage distributor, was worth £20m to the company last year and is expected to bring in about £30m this year. Compaq is still its largest money-spinner, however, with revenue of more than £30m a year.

Storm has so far managed to avoid the troubles which are affecting other distributors such as Ideal Hardware and Datrontech.

Bryn Sage, sales director at Storm, said: "We have been successful by staying focused. A lot of distributors deal with hundreds of product lines but don't have an experienced sales team to sell them. We choose to work with a limited number of vendors."

Storm is trying to recruit Clariion resellers, but could be hampered by EMC's acquisition of Data General. Storm views EMC as one of its greatest rivals.

"EMC has been looking for routes to the channel since its partnership with Hewlett-Packard fell through. It has been trying to recruit HP resellers and may well use Clariion's resellers to enter the indirect market," said Sage.

A move to larger premises in Harrogate should take place during the next few months, and Storm also aims to open a City office.