Memory specialist Axiz has remained mum on whether it is to step in as HP's new print solutions distributor, following the company's break-up with consumer electronics distributor Rectron.
Axiz would not comment on market speculation that its talks with HP are to bear fruit soon. HP is on the record as stating that it is talking to Axiz, as well as other distributors, to take its Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) solutions to market. It has, however, not yet selected a new distribution partner and hopes to do so in coming weeks.
Rectron earlier this week notified stakeholders that after a five-year relationship, "an increasingly incompatible fit between the two companies over recent times" has led to the partnership being terminated.
Expanding on this point, Rectron sales director Zandre Rudolph said: "Despite's its one-stop-shop strategy, Rectron has only had access to one slice of the vast HP product portfolio." He said it did not suit Rectron to become a distributor of mainly HP products, at the expense of other brands.
In addition, Rudolph said HP's direct involvement in the retail environment was problematic for Rectron.
"Our core customers just can't compete with these retailers, especially when the latter receive special deals and pricing from HP we can't provide," he said.
The Rectron break came about after a six-monthly review on HP's part of all its channel partners. However, Mark Perry, SPO country manager for HP, says other distributor relations are "working well".
"We are currently in the process of evaluating the IPG distribution landscape," he says.
HP's remaining distributors are Kolok (supplies), ACT (supplies), Drive Control (supplies and hardware), and Tarsus (hardware).
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