Brigantia eyes new focus

Reseller group aiming for rapid expansion by 2015 and is offering range of new sweeteners to potential members

Reseller group Brigantia has shifted its focus as it moves away from being a traditional buying group and aims to provide its members with a range of must-have services.

The organisation, which counts C2000, Samsung, TechGate and Entanet as its Alliance Partners, is looking to bump up its UK member numbers from about 500 now to 1,400 by 2015.

It underwent a management shuffle earlier this year with Iain Shaw, who founded the organisation, handing over the reins to Paul Ashley, and has also relaunched as Brigantia Partners plc, with the aim of offering a partner share programme over time.

Speaking to CRN, Brett Matthews, marketing consultant at Brigantia, said: “We are going through an aggressive curve promoting our offerings and our relationship with C2000. It is an incredible buying deal and guarantees the best available offer for independents.

“We are also offering a merchant card service deal that offers independents a rate as low as 1.4 per cent, and members will get exclusive access to the national laptop repair programme in the form of an exclusive membership page on www.nationallaptoprepair.co.uk.”

The type of partners it is hoping to reach, he added, include independents with one or multiple retail premises, or one or multiple MSP businesses in a regional part of the UK, or even national.

Members can choose to sign up for one of two packages. The first, costing £20 a month, will give access to all the benefits outlined above and more, while the other, for £30 a month, will give members access to all the benefits, plus training and education benefits that the organisation has secured through a relationship with CompTIA. Both require a £199 sign-up fee.

“All this is underpinned with a six-month money-back guarantee, including the joining fee, if a company is not satisfied with their membership,” Matthews explained.

The organisation has revamped its website and portal to make it simpler for members to navigate and also to give them access to alliance partner videos, news bulletins and a range of online services.