Midwich urges Sanyo partners to stay loyal

Panasonic's decision to ditch Sanyo brand will make it a stronger player in the projector space, distributor claims

Midwich has urged Sanyo partners not to jump ship following parent Panasonic's decision to drop the brand next March.

Panasonic acquired Sanyo in December 2009 and recently revealed it intends to shelve the brand on 31 March 2012. Midwich claims to be the largest UK distributor for both Sanyo and Panasonic projectors.

Midwich downplayed the significance of the move for partners, claiming the decision was inevitable and would make Panasonic a stronger player in the projector space.

Darren Lewitt, AV director of Midwich, said: "People have quite rightly raised concerns since Sanyo issued its statement but I would urge them not to worry.

"Sanyo has been a great partner to many in the channel over the years so now is not the time to jump ship. If resellers are patient, I believe they will be rewarded when Panasonic reveals possibly the strongest projection brand line-up in 2012."

Lewitt emphasised that the migration process started a while back and that the Panasonic PTVX400/W330 range is "pretty much identical" to the Sanyo XU4001/WXU300 products.

Midwich has been told all Sanyo products purchased up to 31 March will be fully warranted for their lifetime by Sanyo service centres along with a Sanyo service team for the majority of 2012. The distributor's Which lamps arm will also continue to offer replacement lamps to the channel.

Lewitt added: "As yet, there has been no official press statement other than the statement that came from Sanyo. This action may represent an opportunity over the next four months for resellers to pick up some lucrative Sanyo deals in Q1 from Midwich and we will keep the channel posted on this."