HP ends Sharptext distribution pact

Trade

Pictured: Sharptext MD Paul White played down the consequences of the move

HP and Irish distributor Sharptext have ended their relationship after 15 years as the vendor consolidates its distribution around a smaller number of pan-European distributors.

The termination of the agreement, which comes into effect from 1 May, will leave HP distribution in the hands of Clarity, which is owned by UK distributor Westcoast, and with Computer 2000, which is in the process of being authorised to distribute HP kit into Ireland. In addition, global distributor Bell Micro will continue to supply HP’s enterprise storage and server products.

Paul White, managing director at Sharptext, said the end of the distribution deal with HP was reached by “mutual agreement”. He played down the consequences of the move on Sharptext’s turnover. “Three years ago it would have been significant, but the writing has been on the wall for some time and we’ve worked very hard to reduce our exposure to the brand.”

He added that the ending of the agreement was in keeping with HP’s strategy to reduce the number of its distributors around Europe andto shift away from local distributors: “Indigenous distributors do not figure in HP’s plans,” said White.

Martin Cullen, head of HP’s personal systems group, said the split with Sharptext was almost inevitable. “It was becoming difficult for Sharptext to give us the scale we required to deliver products to the market in a way that was viable for Sharptext.”

He confirmed HP was in the process of formalising Computer 2000 as a distributor for the Irish market, adding C2000 had been aggressively growing HP sales into the Irish market over the last two and a half years.

News of the break between HP and Sharptext followed hard on the heels of reports that the PC manufacturer was temporarily closing its Dublin inkjet manufacturing operation (DIMO) in Leixlip. The Irish Times reported that HP has asked one in three of its 4,000 Irish staff to take eight an eight-day break in March or April so it can temporarily close this part of its operation.

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