Canon online store will not affect VARs
Printer manufacturer claims store will only sell obscure products that its partners do not stock
Canon UK has launched an online store for consumables and accessories, but insisted it is not looking to compete with its channel partners.
Nico Michaelides, marketing director at Canon’s Consumer Imaging division, told CRN: “We receive quite a lot of queries from end-users asking where they can buy certain accessories, so we thought we would set up an online store for the obscure, hard-to-find products.”
A wide range of printing consumables, including Canon’s high-quality ink and toner cartridges, and a variety of print media are being stocked, alongside accessories such as camera cases and battery packs.
“Our network of partners provide a fantastic service for customers, particularly in terms of hardware sales,” Michaelides said. “The online Canon store will complement our traditional retail network by giving customers a way of buying the important added extras that retailers can’t always provide valuable shelf space for.”
He insisted that Canon was not launching the site to compete with resellers.
“There are VARs that do sell consumables, but I’m not sure they sell the whole range,” he said. “The objective of the online store is purely to make products available to end-users that they can’t find elsewhere.”
Paul Graham managing director of e-tailer Excite IT, said: “If the store is just limited to selling more obscure items then this is a positive thing because these items are probably not what VARs want to stock. The channel will only start getting annoyed if Canon started to sell its core products directly online.”
Kevin Jones, managing director of VAR Printware, said: “If the online store is just for obscure products, it is interesting that Canon would invest money in setting up an online store for products that there isn’t much demand for.”