Cynics bite back at Apple promise

Smaller Apple dealers are struggling to make margins and are cynical about CEO Gil Amelio?s promise to bring Apple ?back to basics?.

Resellers excluded from direct support when Apple transferred more dealers into distribution last year, complain of poor marketing support and inadequate communication.

One Apple reseller said companies that don?t sell volume product are being ?dumped on from above?.

?The price cutting over the past few weeks has been drastic,? he said. ?We?ll be sending out quotes one week, knowing that by the next week they?ll have been cut by 20 per cent.? He said forcing small dealers to go through distributors like Frontline or Ingram Micro reduced margins even further.

Matthew Carr-Gomm, director of Apple Byte Systems, said Apple had failed to support its reseller channel with advertising and marketing support over the years. He said communication with the offices had ?ground to a complete halt?, when a worldwide ordering system was introduced.

Amelio promised Apple shareholders last week it would cut jobs, reduce fat cat perks and boost advertising.

?We?re going to have to get smaller before we can get bigger,? he said. He admitted the company needed to lose $400 million, but did not talk specifically about job losses.

Apple will consolidate all its marketing operations into a single unit.