Northamber tackles 'lack of choice' in AV distribution

Distributor unveils raft of fresh audio-visual signings as it strives to offer resellers alternative to Midwich and Exertis

Industry consolidation has left resellers with a lack of audio-visual (AV) distributors to choose from, Northamber has claimed after making its own play in the AV space.

Northamber has worked in the AV space in a "low key fashion" for over a decade, but is pushing deeper into the market with a raft of new vendor signings.

Talking to CRN, Northamber strategy director Alex Phillips said the move is partly a response to the bankruptcy of Steljes and acquisition of Medium by Exertis, which he claimed had narrowed down the options for resellers.

Fresh vendor signings include a contract to carry Philips' LFD and commercial TV range, and BenQ around TFTs. It has also switched to an exclusive relationship with UK interactive display vendor Genee, as well as securing an exclusive contract for Ricoh's solutions projectors.

Phillips branded AV a "huge focus" for the AIM-listed distributor and claimed that Northamber could offer something different for IT resellers targeting the SMB and education space.

"With the acquisition of Medium and the [administration] of Steljes, we've seen a real gap emerge: there aren't many choices of distributors on AV," he said.

"Midwich do a fantastic job in that pro-AV space. But Northamber's strength has always been in IT resellers who deal with that SMB and education space, and that's an area we feel isn't currently getting a lot of focus."

According to Futuresource Consulting figures quoted by Northamber, the UK AV segment is set to grow by 10 per cent annually over the next six years.

Although Northamber swang to a £539,000 loss on revenues that fell by £3.5m to £29m year-on-year in its first half, its gross margins rose from 6.9 to 7.7 per cent as it moved away from lower-margin business. Its total assets stood at £26.8m. Full-year results are due out later this year.

Philips said Northamber is one of the few distributors which doesn't lean on credit insurers, which he said gives it extra flexibility to help resellers during peak season, particularly in the education space.

"We self-insure our credit and have a local warehouse, and that's why we think we can help IT resellers and smaller AV resellers get into that space and push forward with our solutions," he said.