Kingston leaves US partners out in cold

Memory vendor Kingston Technology has begun moves to cut out distribution by selling direct to resellers in an effort to address the white box market.

As part of selling direct, Kingston US is supplying a line of memory products, Value Ram, to system integrators and PC assemblers in an initial three-month trial.

The vendor claimed that it was forced to cut out distributors because to compete, parts were sold without price protection, marketing funds, or a returns policy - the Ts&Cs in which distributors traditionally operate.

But the move has sparked concerns among distributors that a similar scheme in Europe would hurt their business if they were cut out of the sales process.

Alison Heath, sales and marketing director at Kingston, said: "This is a three-month trial to target a market we don't address in the US. It does not necessarily follow that we will introduce it in the UK, even if the trial is successful."

But Andrew Henderson, managing director at Simms International, said: "We have had no assurances from Kingston, but it is my belief that if it did introduce Value Ram in the UK, it would be done through distribution.

"Kingston doesn't really have the infrastructure in Europe to go direct to resellers. If Value Ram goes ahead, and it goes through distribution, it would be something we would be very interested in doing," he added.