Bay keeps distributors in suspense

Bay is prolonging the agony for its distributors after failing to produce the results of its channel audit on time, which would end speculation over the status of Landis.

The audit, the results of which were due to be released at the end of March, had been launched at the height of a storm over claims made by Dutch distributor Landis that it had signed a local agreement with Bay (PC Dealer, 4 February).

David Parker, regional business manager at Bay Networks, said: 'The delay doesn't surprise me, I thought the end of March was a bit optimistic.'

Roger Paul, managing director of Landis, said distributors were still waiting for the results, but he added: 'We are pushing for a decision.'

Paul added: 'Although we are doing a significant amount of Bay business, we could be doing a lot more if we were approved. There are some resellers that can't get involved without an agreement.'

Allan Mack, managing director of Ilion, said: 'We are not worried as it doesn't effect us, but the delay will mean any new partners will take a long time to approve.'

Simon Hall, regional marketing director at Anixter, said he was positive about the distributor's audit, but added: 'The questionnaire didn't come out until late in March.'

Parker stated that he was waiting for the results of the audit to come back to the UK from the European office.

He said: 'I am hoping it is fairly imminent. There are a lot of things hanging in the balance which have to be planned for the next financial year.'