Diagonal jumps back with Egility

SAP reseller looks to ramp up retail customer base with purchase of Egility Solutions

SAP reseller Diagonal has insisted it is back to full strength after its restructure last year, and has backed up the claim with the acquisition of Egility Solutions.

Diagonal reported losses of £2.8m for its fiscal 2003, compared with a loss of £2.3m in 2002, while sales fell by more than £6m last year.

The firm said it acquired Egility for an undisclosed sum to ramp up its retail customer base.

Diagonal made about 19 redundancies last June and an attempted management buy-out was rejected in July.

However, Chris Chittock, managing director of Diagonal UK, said things are looking up. "Customers are more confident about what they are doing and, following changes in our senior management, we can focus on them," she said.

Chittock added that the VAR had worked alongside Egility Solutions to see if the firms fitted together. "We test out companies before we buy and, during the period working together, we had two good retail wins," she said.

"There are two growing sectors for SAP, in retail and the public sector. This will help us address the retail sector."

Duncan Wyeth, sales and marketing director at SAP Business-One reseller Sirion Logic, said: "If the mid-market is anything to go by things are picking up. Customers have started investing again in the past six months."

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