Dynabook confirms rumours it is shutting UK office

Operations in UK, Ireland and Nordics will be discontinued in current form, vendor confirms to CRN

Dynabook Europe is shutting its UK office, blaming "exceptionally challenging" market conditions.

Sales operations in the UK, Ireland and Nordics under the current business model will be discontinued, the notebook vendor confirmed to CRN. As a result, the UK office will close by the end of April.

Multiple partners we spoke to got wind of the news last week, with one hearing that around 30 UK jobs will be affected.

The move comes four years after Toshiba Client Solutions was rebranded under the Dynabook name, following its acquisition by Sharp.

Dynabook Inc is developing a new strategy for the UK, Ireland and Nordic region where it utilises an operations centre established in Asia, the vendor said. Arrangements are being put in place to honour the supply of products for existing sales commitments in the three affected countries/regions, it added.

Having boomed during Covid, PC shipments contracted by 16 per cent in 2022 and are expected to shrink by a further seven per cent in 2023, according to Gartner.

But Andy Wright, chief revenue officer at reseller XMA, felt that the move had been inevitable for some time.

"It's a big shame for everyone who works there, but to be honest I am not surprised," he said.

"They (Toshiba/Dynabook) have found it hard going for a number of years. I have worked closely with them since my days at portable computers (acquired by Elcom and then Kelsey /CDW) so very sad to see them withdraw. Not sure it's a reflection on the market shrinkage that we are seeing globally. They had pulled back from being a player in so many segments of the market I think it was all a matter of time," he said.

Lee Dutton, group sales director at reseller Misco, felt that Dynabook's UK exit would leave a hole in the channel, however.

"This is very sad news," he said.

"My thoughts of course are with the UK staff, many of whom we have known and worked with for many years.

"Dynabook has been an excellent partner for Misco; In an age of behemoths they lacked scale but were flexible and agile enough to create a point of difference. We enjoyed particular success in the mid market and in public sector where their reputation for quality and reliability remained strong. I feel like our channel is poorer without them, and I am sure the talented staff will soon be snapped up by competitors."

As recently as November, Dynabook UK announced it had been selected to provide client PC hardware through the National Desktop and Notebook Agreement (NDNA), working with partners Stone, SCC and Insight. The framework is aimed at the higher-education sector and associated public sector organisations.

One source remarked that although the distributors have been left with some unsold stock, "there's not a bucketload to go through, so they aren't too nervous about getting rid of it".

Dynabook's full statement reads as follows:

"As widely reported, market conditions and the economic climate in EMEA continue to be exceptionally challenging and many analysts expect this situation to remain for the rest of 2023 at least. As a result, Dynabook Europe is implementing significant structural reform to its business. Sales operations in the UK, Ireland and Nordics under the current business model will be discontinued, and as a result Dynabook's office in UK will close by the end of April 2023.

"In response to these challenging conditions, a new strategy is being developed by Dynabook Inc for the UK, Ireland and Nordic region. The objective is to create a new model agile enough to adapt to today's (and future) challenging business conditions in the region, utilising an operations centre to be established in Asia.

"In any case, arrangements are being put in place to honour the supply of products for existing sales commitments in the UK, Ireland and Nordic region. Service and support will continue to be available for all existing customers via the current channels. Dynabook will of course honour all existing standard and promotional warranty obligations, as well as purchased warranty extensions and enhancements."