Midwich Thame seeks to limit Acer distributor list

Acer?s newest wholesaler, Midwich Thame, has called for the vendor to cull its expanding distributor list.

Midwich Thame, which adds Acer notebook and colour franchises to its contract for Texas Instruments (TI) notebooks, is Acer?s seventh distributor for the UK and the Irish Republic.

Nick Pye, MD of Midwich Thame, said the company was ?very happy? with the new relationship, but expressed concern about over-distribution: ?My own aspirations are that there will be a rationalisation of the channel,? he said.

The company is the largest UK distributor for TI, which sold its notebook division to Acer last month. Mobile Planet and PC World also carry both TI and Acer product ranges.

Dave Tanner, Acer marketing manager, said the company has no plans to prune its distribution line-up. ?But obviously we will have to be channel responsive,? he added.

Acer has also advanced its plans to build a corporate channel for its branded products b y recruiting three mid-sized dealers. Leading Edge and Repton have signed up as premier (volume) resellers for the entire Acer range and Rapid Networks has become a Var for its notebooks and PCs.

Paul Brenchley, MD of Oxford-based Leading Edge, said: ?It is important to us to offer quality, brand-name products at a cost-effective price.?