New Canon showroom tipped as UK's largest

Canon distributor Velmex bucks shrinking market and expands into bigger premises

Velmex Distribution has moved to larger Surrey premises, including a 80m2 to 90m2 showroom for Canon large-format demonstrations claimed to be the largest in the UK.

Mark Keeley, managing director of the distributor, said it was continuing to expand as favourable yen rates versus the euro, alongside product innovation, were helping it get a leg-up over wide-format rivals.

“We are managing to expand in a shrinking market that has been dominated by HP and Epson. We are taking them on and doing well,” he said.

Keeley added its Canon portfolio still harbours growth potential, because that vendor now has quality printers for other specialist markets at a competitive price.

Velmex’s new premises at Willow Lane Industrial Park in Mitcham features around 1,981m2 of warehousing, showroom and office space, including another warehouse at a different location.

The new showroom will display all Canon’s large-format Image PROGRAF line-up, as well as the C1+, a new light-production printer. There is also a boardroom table and presentation system.

A mix of IT resellers and specialists are expected to make use of the facility ­ it is not necessary to belong to Velmex’s accredited partner programme to do so.

Matthew Searle, channel director at Canon, said: “Our partnership with Velmex has been a model of how a vendor and distributor partnership should work.”