Bechtle guns for growth
Move to modern new office kick-starts VAR's ambitious expansion plans
Fresh from moving to a swanky new HQ (pictured), VAR Bechtle has its sights set on steady growth.
The Wiltshire-based firm, which counts HP, Microsoft, Samsung and Lenovo among its many vendor partners, is part of the European powerhouse of the same name which employs 5,800 people in total across the region.
James Napp, managing director of Bechtle UK, told CRN the firm has come a long way since its early days of catalogue selling and is on course this year to hit £25m turnover.
He said the firm was gunning for growth. “Our turnover was £11.7m in 2009 and we are looking this year to hit £25m,” he said. “Seeing as we doubled turnover in the past three years, there is no reason why we cannot double it again over the next three years.”
“Our USP is that we can service 14 countries with one part code with everything managed from a single screen. Not a lot of players in our market can make that claim and we have a 50,000-product portfolio.”
Napp explained the firm’s model is currently about 40 per cent online direct selling to customers, and 60 per cent consultancy-based business, with its sweet spot being firms with 100 to 1,000 employees.
He said Bechtle UK currently employs about 50 people, but the office move has given it the scope to recruit more staff as well as host more customer events and vendor seminars to get its marketing message heard by a wider audience.
“Our principle is built around service and employing good-quality people. I would say we are ‘Softcat-esque’ in our approach – we work very hard, but have fun as well,” Napp said.
“We go for a mix of people who have relevant account management skills, but we also have an apprentice and graduate programme, picking the best students from local schools and education establishments and giving them the opportunity to get into the workplace.”
Looking ahead, Napp said the firm would never rule out acquisition, but was focusing on organic growth as a priority.