BT acquires dabs.com in online SME offensive
Telco giant targets cross-sell opportunities in the small-business market with reseller buyout
Channel speculation over the buyout of dabs.com was finally extinguished last week as BT bought out the e-tailer for about £30m.
The telco, which CRN exclusively revealed to be interested in Dabs (CRN, 17 April), will use the acquisition to push deeper into the SME space.
Ross Cook, a BT representative, said: “Dabs is a very well-known brand that will bring cross-sell opportunities to us. This is a very good channel through which to reach the SME and consumer markets.”
He added that it was too soon to reveal what will happen to company structure and brands.
“It is very early to know what the moves forward are going to be. For the time being, everything is staying the same [at Dabs], except its ownership.”
Jonathan Wall, marketing director at Dabs, said: “This is a very exciting time. We are delighted with this development.”
Clive Longbottom, service director at analyst Quocirca, said: “This is a complete sea change for BT. It has had its own shops before, and nothing came of them. This acquisition is really taking BT into Dixons Stores Group (DSG) territory. This could send shivers down the spine of DSG.”
However, Derek Lloyd, managing director of PC World Business, which is owned by DSG, was unconcerned. “It is an interesting development,” he said. “I will wait with interest to see how the two cultures will work. I don’t regard this as a major threat.”
Tony Price, managing director of rival e-tailer WStore, said: “I was very surprised by BT’s move, but it should not have that much effect on us. Dabs is strong in the consumer space where we don’t play.
“BT has got a lot of marketing muscle behind it to push its brand. Consumers trust BT.”
Alastair Edwards, senior analyst at Canalys, said it will be interesting to see how the business moves forward.
“They are two such different organisations. One of the reasons BT is so attracted to Dabs could be a perception issue,” he said. “BT is seen as a monolithic, monopolistic giant, whereas Dabs is an entrepreneurial and highly flexible company with a very loyal customer base.”
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