Juniper drops Westcon as UK distributor
Westcon to be displaced by Nuvias in 2018 and will only cover three European countries
Juniper Networks will drop Westcon as an EMEA-wide distributor in 2018, shrinking its remit to only three European countries, our sister publication Channelnomics Europe has learned.
Two sources told Channelnomics Europe yesterday that Westcon had lost its EMEA-wide contract with Juniper, with a third source claiming they had heard rumours circulating the industry.
After going to Juniper for comment, the networking and security vendor said that signing a pan-EMEA deal with Nuvias in September prompted a distribution review. As of January 2018, Westcon will only serve Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.
"Juniper Networks signed an EMEA-wide contract with a new distributor, Nuvias, in September 2017. As part of this new distribution landscape, from January 2018 Westcon will continue to represent Juniper, specifically in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Juniper will continue to work diligently with our distribution landscape to maintain full focus on our solution portfolio and to build market growth together," said EMEA channel chief Kristian Kerr in a statement.
Westcon has been an EMEA-wide distributor of Juniper for the best part of nine years, covering Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, the Nordics, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and parts of Africa.
But after signing a pan-EMEA deal with value-added security firm Nuvias in September, and a contract with UK-based broadliner Westcoast in February for its full range of networking products, Juniper was likely at risk of being over-distributed.
The news follows what has been a tumultuous 2017 for Westcon. Its owner Datatec issued a profit warning in May after it admitted its earnings per share for fiscal 2017 would fall by 66 per cent. Westcon's EMEA business was the hardest hit, with sales falling by 30 per cent while global sales declined by seven per cent.
The distributor has also struggled with a problematic SAP roll out that went live in November 2016, which its parent company has attributed towards its lacklustre performance.
Furthermore, Westcon's Americas operations, and 10 per cent of its EMEA and APAC business, were sold off to US distributor Synnex at the start of September for $800m (£598m).
Synnex has a year-long window in which to double its 10 per cent stake in Westcon's "international" business, but CEO Kevin Murai stressed that he was reluctant to increase Synnex's stake while Westcon is still converting to SAP.