ESys to distribute Optiarc disk drives
PC maker and distributor builds upon its partnership with Optiarc
Distributor and PC maker eSys Technologies is to distribute Sony NEC Optiarc’s range of optical disk drives in the UK, building on its existing partnership with the vendor in Benelux, France and Croatia.
The Netherlands-based hard disk specialist distributor has a UK branch in Guildford with 15 staff. Speaking from the Amsterdam logistics centre, eSys’s European regional director, Harprit Singh, described the deal as the latest action in the component distributor’s diversification strategy. “We grew from a startup to a $2bn (£1.02bn) operation in five years. But then we found out the hard way that putting all our eggs in one basket could be very expensive,” he explained.
One contract alone, Seagate, represented 30 per cent of eSys’s business, Singh said.
Seagate terminated its partnership in November 2006, after eSys denied the vendor access to its accounts. The company has signed a series of deals with component makers, including Hightech, Pioneer, Kingmax and Yusmart. It continues to distribute hard drives across Europe from vendors including Western Digital, Samsung and Fujitsu.
Singh admitted that 90 per cent of the company’s business comes from hard drives, but these days it is offering optical drives in addition.
The move comes after eSys established the brand in Europe and demonstrated strong relationships with system developers. “ESys played a fundamental role in pushing up sales of our optical disk drives and increased our market share across Europe,” said Kai Ahsbahs, Sony NEC Optiarc Europe’s senior manager.
“ESys has become one of our top distributors,” Ahsbahs added. “It has proved itself abroad so we have extended its contract in the UK, which is a very important market.”
Singh attributed the company’s growth to its value-added services. “We offer pre- and post-sales support okay not everybody uses it, but it is there. And we have negotiated good credit terms with vendors and can offer resellers 30 days’ credit, even on low-margin items. Everybody does use that,” boasted Singh.