Currys and Byte join IBM line-up

Big Blue?s latest Aptiva PCs will be available through two more outlets

IBM has added two big-name high street outlets to its retail partners following the launch of its next family of Aptiva consumer PCs and its first range of peripherals.

Aptivas and the peripherals will be sold in Currys and Byte for the first time. They will also be available in the existing outlets of PC World, Comet, John Lewis, Staples, Tempo, Argos, Scottish Power and Allders.

IBM is supplying the multiples directly, while the smaller retailers will be supplied via the distribution channel.

Larry Smith, UK manager for the consumer division at IBM, reiterated the vendor?s commitment to the channel, saying that he felt IBM was in its best ever position for the retail market. He claimed its retail coverage put IBM in good stead for the traditional boom in the last four months of the year.

In an attempt to clear the channel of obsolete stock, IBM stopped shipping product in June and sold no further products in July and August to retailers, prior to September?s launch. Smith said: ?We have cleared the channel.?

IBM has revised its Ts&Cs with retailers to ensure they are not overstocked. It now requires a 12-week forecast from retailers and delivers product on a weekly basis. This means retailers do not have to store large quantities of stock or pay for them far in advance.

According to Smith, this makes price protection and changes less of a problem and makes inventory control for IBM much easier.

IBM?s salesforce is paid on what retailers sell rather than how much they can get into retailers. The emphasis is on inventory control rather than raw sales.

All Aptiva PCs will come bundled with IBM?s dictation software, Windows 95 and Lotus Smartsuite.