News

Distributors lose industry share in 2011
2011-08-31
According to the last Canalys report, the growth of the distributors does not match those of the rest of the industry. The Canalys IT Industry major vendor (Apple, Cisco, Dell, EMC, Google, HP, IBM, Intel, Lexmark, Oracle, Microsoft and SAP) grew revenue 18% worldwide on average in the first quarter of 2011. In comparison, the big four distributors (Arrow ECS, Avnet TS, Ingram Micro and Tech Data) managed 11%, with many smaller distributors faring worse than this. Distributors have blamed recent disappointing results on excess inventory, poor retail demand, sluggish sell-out and weakening economies. They have comforted themselves by making peer group comparisons where sales-out data shows "we are performing as well as the others, so please blame the market for our results, not us!" And while these reasons are valid justifications, Canalys argues that distributors need to see the bigger picture and realize that for the first time in a decade industry trends are conspiring against them.

According to the report, distribution thrived for the last 10 years thanks to rapid notebook and netbook adoption and the virtualization of the server room, with two-tier distribution at the heart of the routes-to-market for both B2B and B2C vendors. But the growth drivers of the industry have now changed. Mobility is still booming, but now on the back of smaller devices, notably smart phones and pads, which are more and more sold either directly or through service providers. The server and storage markets are healthy, driven by data center activity and cloud applications. On top of these industry changes, the world economic growth is mainly coming from economies beyond Western Europe and the US, where the top 4 distributors are at best weak, at worse absent (MEA, Russia, Japan, etc.) : in these countries, local distributors will outgrow them, with already some local giants like Merlion in Russia for example. All of these factors combined are set to cause headaches for distributor executives for at least the next two years. The report concludes with a list of recommandations for the distributors to follow, if they wish their growth to match the industry, one of which is to go East as soon as possible…

Avnet Technology Solutions appoints Serrano VP Finance
2011-08-16
Multispecialist Avnet Technology Solutions has named Cookie Serrano as vice president of finance, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas. Serrano joins Avnet with more than 20 years of experience in the finance and accounting fields, having worked for companies such as Goodrich, Motorola and US Foodservice in various financial management positions. Serrano reports to Rusty Murdaugh, group finance officer, Avnet Technology Solutions, Global. As vice president of finance, Serrano will manage the finance teams that support Avnet Technology Solutions in the US and Canada. Her leadership skills and financial experience will be applied to improving business practices and managing specific areas of accounting and finance such as planning and forecasting, as well as internal controls and compliance.

Avnet and A-Data team up
2011-07-26
Mémory and flash vendor A-Data has signed a distributorship agreement with multispecialist Avnet Technology Solutions, in which Avnet becomes an authorised distributor of ADATA products in major markets throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. A-Data products are effectively available through Avnet offices in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Avnet names Rick Hamada CEO
2011-02-25
Avnet has announced that its Board of Directors has promoted Rick Hamada, 53, to CEO effective July 4, 2011, concurrent with the beginning of Avnet's new fiscal year. Hamada, who currently serves as Avnet's President and COO, has also been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors, effective immediately. Roy Vallee, Avnet's current Chairman and CEO, will continue to serve as Executive Chairman, in which role he will focus on selected business development efforts, including future merges and acquisitions. These moves are a culmination of a multi-year CEO succession planning process.

Bell Micro brand to be history by October
2010-08-23
Multispecialist Avnet Technology Solutions has put a timetable in place to axe the Bell brand and have all front office staff in place by the end of september. The current phase, which is about 85% determined, is to put in place the structure for the vendor/reseller facing teams to ensure there is minimal or no disruption to business. Although Avnet employs around 1900 staff in Europe, it has refused to discuss headcount cuts. The grand plan is to wring out $50m to $60m in "synergy savings" from the expanded Avnet by reducing staff duplication, consolidating systems and premises. For example, the distributor has in the region of four ERP systems, which should be standardized to SAP in the mid-term, after a migration from Bell to Avnet's infrastructure by Q1. The brand Bell should have disappeared by October, 1st (source : Microscope United Kingdom).