Action pulls NEC product from its catalogue sales

Mail-order firm Action Computer Supplies has ceased to trade in NEC products, following the vendor's decision to sell its PCs direct in the UK.

The reseller has put the promotion and sale of NEC computers on hold - namely the vendor's flagship Packard Bell range as well as NEC monitors and printers, projectors and CD drives - pending a favourable conclusion to ongoing discussions between the companies.

The vendor warned resellers it would sell direct, following a pilot scheme established in France in July (PC Dealer, 28 January). The decision caused a furore among channel partners, some of whom dropped their entire stock of NEC products, citing a lack of confidence in the vendor's channel.

Action chief operating officer Duncan Wilkes said the retailer was disappointed that it had been forced to make such a decision. 'Reaction has been not to continue selling NEC products for the moment. We are in discussions with NEC and will be listening to what the company has to say,' he said.

As a result of the uncertainty surfacing within the channel, NEC UK's peripheral division has embarked on a quest to allay fears among resellers that it will follow suit of sister unit NEC Packard Bell and sell direct.

Stuart Hudson, UK sales manager for the business equipment division at NEC, conceded the decision to go direct did not do his own division any favours.

'This confusion is an unnecessary problem which stems from that decision.

We (in peripherals) must now demonstrate our commitment to resellers,' he said.