Alliance sets sights on European crown

Siemens Fujitsu Computers plans 40 per cent boost in annual sales by 2001.

Siemens Fujitsu Computers will launch next month with the intention of grabbing the UK market by the throat as part of its goal to establish itself as the number one vendor in Europe by 2001.

The company, which will go live from 1 October, aims to reign supreme in the European PC, server and notebook markets within two years by increasing annual sales volumes by 40 per cent. The announcement follows the signing of an initial memorandum of understanding in June.

Siemens Fujitsu Computers will have its headquarters in the Netherlands and will be run by two presidents: Winifried Hoffman, president of Fujitsu Computers Europe, and Robert Hoog, president of Siemens Computer Systems Division.

To dispel rumours of a behind-the-scenes personality clash, the two chiefs presented a model of unity at the Frankfurt launch.

Hoffman declared that one of the venture's main priorities would be to transform the UK operation into a £1bn business.

"We are not good enough in this market, even though we have 20,000 staff at Fujitsu/ICL. We need to change our approach and get our act together," he admitted.

The company is also expected to intensify its channel activities to achieve its targets when it unveils its UK management team before the launch.

"We need to stimulate consumer demand, but we also need to attract business from corporate Vars," Hoffman said.

Charles Bowes, UK marketing manager at Fujitsu Computers, said: "We have deals with BT to sell over the net, and agreements with Tesco. We can expect to see developments in these kinds of areas."

Andy Brown, analyst at IDC, said: "Siemens is fifth and Fujitsu sixth in western Europe. If their units were added together, the combined business would be number two, but it doesn't work like that. The potential is there but there is incredible pressure in this market. Dell is very dynamic, Compaq is still strong and IBM is recovering well. Plus, in the UK , both have really struggled, partly because vendor stores such as Time are doing so well," he added.