Arrow ECS moves into new London digs

Distributor calls on partners to take advantage of the facilities on offer at its new London office

Distribution giant Arrow ECS has taken the wraps off its new offices in central London, and urged partners to make the most of the facilities on offer there.

The firm took over the fourth floor of the Royal Exchange building in the heart of London's finance district at the end of July, and celebrated the move with a grand opening ceremony for partners yesterday.

Arrow's new London home contains 14 training rooms, four product demonstration suites and an 80-seat auditorium.

In a speech to partners yesterday, Steve Pearce, Arrow ECS' UK managing director, described the office move as a "gutsy commitment" for the firm, given the current economic climate.

"It is a very grand building, in a prime location, but we are very conscious of the pennies within our organisation and this has to give us a return," he said.

"This is a big investment for the organisation, [but] it is convenient, central and near where the big-spending end users are."

The office and its facilities are at its partners' disposal, added Pearce, and he wants as many as possible to use them.

"Please help me justify this investment because we have got to maximise it by pushing significant training numbers through the building," he said.

"It has got fantastic demonstration facilities. You just need to book it, you just need to use it, and we do not charge for it, because it is such an important part of closing a deal."

Speaking to ChannelwWb afterwards, Pearce shed further light on how the firm plans to recoup the money spent on its digs.

"Fifty per cent [of the office] is devoted to training, which is a great revenue-generating environment, so the building is not a cost," he explained.

"Many distributors have facilities that are very useful for meetings, but they do not serve any practical purpose. Most of the partners that come here are generating some kind of business opportunity."

Providing partners with access to demonstration facilities containing kit from EMC, Oracle and IBM will also help, he added.

"To find the resources within a vendor to do demonstrations these days is very hard. For years, you could get demonstration kit, but no one really does it anymore because it needs to be refreshed, and that is a big commitment. But it really makes a tremendous difference to our partners' sales cycles," concluded Pearce.