VARs flocking to Lenovo and fleeing Acer

Context data reveals the brands resellers intend to add - and axe - over the next three months

Research of more than 1,700 western European resellers suggests Lenovo is the brand most are planning to add to their portfolio.

The survey, by market watcher Context, also found that Acer's channel is going through a "serious structural change and contraction" in the region.

The 1,725 resellers that took part in Context's ChannelWatch research were asked which of the major IT brands they are planning to add to their portfolios over the next three months, and which they are thinking of dropping.

Lenovo comfortably topped the standings based on the net score, with nearly four times as many resellers planning to add the vendor than drop it (58 versus 16).

This gave the China-based vendor a net score of 42, beating Samsung and Fujitsu into joint second place on 21, with Asus fourth on 11.

Acer had the largest negative net score (-59), with 19 resellers saying they intended to add the brand compared with 78 intending to drop it. HP finished second from bottom, with 47 resellers on the way in and 94 on the way out, giving it a net score of -47. Symantec finished third last with a net score of -12.

Talking at DISTREE, Context co-founder Howard Davies said: "There are really a lot of resellers moving out of Acer. It is a ratio of one to four and that is serious structural change and contraction of the Acer channel which is taking place."

Davies said the figures for HP – which is this week trying to win over partners at its Global partner shindig in Las Vegas – pointed towards change rather than a contraction within its channel. He added that a lot of resellers are coming both in and out of Cisco, which had a net score of three.

"HP has the largest number of resellers dropping but had the largest number of resellers to start with," he said. "But they have a very significant number of resellers that are adding them as well, so there is some structural change taking place there."