Uniwell Systems ceases trading

EPOS distributor closes doors, citing difficult market conditions

Electronic Point of Sale (Epos) distributor Uniwell Systems has ceased trading and is expected to be placed into administration later this week.

The Blackburn-based firm, which specialises in the distribution of its Japanese parent's Epos hardware and peripherals, has confirmed that all seven of its staff have been made redundant and insolvency practitioner Leonard Curtis appointed.

Jonathan Hutchings, managing director of Uniwell Systems, cited difficult trading conditions and unfavourable exchange rates as reasons for its closure.

He told ChannelWeb: "Trading conditions have been extremely tough over the past 12 months. The strong performance of the Japanese Yen has not helped."

Hutchings said the company had been in the process of restructuring to accommodate for the difficult market conditions, and had planned to downsize its premises in a bid to cut costs.

"Unfortunately, that deal fell through about six months ago," he explained.

The company has personally notified all of its resellers in the UK and Ireland about its situation and, in the interim, has advised them to purchase products directly from the company's head office in Japan.

"Maintaining the continuity of product supply to our partners is the name of the game," explained Hutchings. "At the moment, the priority is on securing a distributor that is closer to home for our UK partners and can provide them with the support they need."

Mike Pullon, managing director of distributor Varlink, said:"The inherent cost structure of a company with a head office in Japan could have been a problem given low price points of their products coupled with falling demand."