Maverick takes aim at high-end display sales with Mitsubishi

AV distributor adds fourth screen vendor and fills portfolio gap

Maverick's Jon Sidwick

AV distributor Maverick has added Mitsubishi to its stable of large panel display vendors with an eye to taking advantage of a boom in high-end display demand.

Jon Sidwick, managing director at Maverick, said Mitsubishi filled the high-end gap in the Computer2000 subsidiary’s large panel portfolio. The distributor also has Samsung, Philips and LG on its books.

“The growth in the large screen market is very high, down to applications such as video-conferencing and digital signage. And we are seeing strong growth in both of those areas,” he said.

Sidwick said that Mitsubishi’s Visual Information Systems division already had several other UK distributors, including Anders + Kern, Ingram Micro, Micro-P and Owl Visual Systems.

“Mitsubishi has invested in us because we have probably got the greatest channel breadth. We promote both specialist AV resellers and also work closely with IT VARS,” he said.

The Japanese vendor gave Maverick the ability to distribute a well-respected high-end brand. “The other brands are more in the mid-volume area,” he said.

Maverick would target resellers working with the corporate and education markets.

No staff additions were required to Maverick’s 22-strong team of sales and business development professionals, Sidwick said.

Fraser McDonald, UK sales manager at Mitsubishi, said the vendor had launched a new range of digital signage solutions several years back that had enjoyed steady sales growth.

“We are now looking to increase market share and strengthen our brand within this marketplace,” McDonald said.

Maverick, a previously independent company, was acquired by broadbased distributor Computer 2000 in November 2007 after running into financial troubles.

Maverick’s Sidwick said that the acquisition was now bedded down and he believed the distributor was in the best place in what was now a tougher economic climate.

“We’re now part of a very large and robust business model in terms of credit bandwidth, what we can achieve as a distributor and what we can offer to the channel,” Sidwick said.

“Overall the business has been incredibly successful and we’re seeing growth in all areas.”