Ingram gains Toshiba franchise

Ingram Micro has become the second wholesale supplier of Toshiba's entire range of notebook and desktop machines.

Ingram Micro has become the second wholesale supplier of Toshiba's entire range of notebook and desktop machines.

Computer 2000 is Toshiba's other broadline distributor in the UK, becoming the first after the Japanese giant adopted a two-tier channel strategy in August. This came about after pressure from its resellers and because hybrid operations appeared to be losing their position in the market.

Gary Evans, dealer sales manager at Toshiba, said appointing Ingram as a second broadline distributor will allow the vendor to increase its coverage and spread the risk.

"Having all your eggs in one basket is a very risky strategy. With both Ingram and C2000, we will have good strong sales while spreading the risk," he said.

Evans also said having the UK's two biggest distributors on its books was also part of a strategy to align Toshiba's channel strategy across Europe. "Toshiba has both organisations in other sectors in Europe," he stated. "The company is harmonising its approach to the channel right across Europe," he added.

Ingram was not available to comment.