Azlan in row over leaflet attack

Interquad has thrown down the gauntlet to fellow distributor Azlan in a marketing campaign criticising training suppliers who bypass resellers to sell direct.

The Slough-based company has issued a leaflet which reads: 'Are technical education providers selling direct to your customers? Then you should speak to Interquad.' It also states that a legal document, the Interquad Partner Agreement, is designed to give resellers assurance about dealing with Interquad.

A couple of weeks ago, Azlan provoked anger from Independent Education Brokers (IEB), which claimed the distributor had approached a customer directly (PC Dealer, 16 September).

But Ed Arnett, managing director of Interquad, said the timing of the campaign was coincidental. 'The behaviour of some vendors and manufacturers in the channel is very capricious. It may or may not approach the customer direct, while there are some distributors who may or may not go direct.'

According to the leaflet: 'It is always a worry that the supplier you work with will turn around and sell to your customers through its own direct sales force if margins get a bit tight.'

Richard Pryor-Jones, managing director of Azlan, said: 'If he is referring to our strategy, it is the same one that was in place when Ed was head of training at Azlan.'

Pryor-Jones added: 'The customer is looking out for the best deal and partnership is not a word that is synonymous with this.'

Julia Jones, director of Faculty at Ilion, said: 'Interquad is trying to maximise on claims that Azlan has been dealing direct. It is very arrogant in its approach.'