Powermark makes final Memory Bank transaction

Corporate reseller Powermark is withdrawing from the off-the-page market by closing down Memory Bank, its mail-order arm.

Trevor Brown, managing director of Powermark, said the problem was not falling margins but a reduction in the amount of business coming through mail order. He also said the returns on investment were not as high as they had been in the past.

The reseller will now turn its attentions entirely on its core business, which consists of corporate sales and consultancy work.

Brown also claimed the mail-order business in the UK had previously blossomed because of a lack of serious competition from retail, but said the consumer market was now being driven by retail, singling out the impact of PC World. Brown said he believed that given the choice, most Britons prefer buying through retail, where they can see and ask questions about products.

He added that the reason the business was not put up for sale was because of the negative impact it would have on staff morale across the company while negotiations went on.

According to Brown, the company was still considering what action to take with the Memory Bank brand.

Most members of staff have been offered other positions in the company although there have been a small number of redundancies.

Memory Bank produces a 40-page insert catalogue in Computer Shopper and PC Direct. It will continue to appear in the December and January issues and orders are still being accepted.