Blackrock-based AV (audio-visual) distributor Meritec has become the latest firm to set up a trade-only distribution company devoted to AV products, systems and service.Square One Distribution, to be based in Shankhill, Co. Dublin, aims to sell a broad portfolio of AV products to IT resellers and traditional AV companies as well as the retail market and the pub and club sector.
The move closely follows the establishment of Fusion Technologies (see Channels, March 2003), an independent AV trade-only distributor established by Irishman Daryl Brennan, a former sales and marketing director for UK distributor Steljes. ‘Traditionally there has been little separation between an AV dealer and a distributor in Ireland,’ said Garnett Stewart, general manager of the new company. ‘The market has reached the stage where the two areas need to be structured differently.’
Anticipating the increasing convergence between IT and AV technologies, the company has technical expertise in both areas, says Stewart. He previously worked with Meritec in the late nineties and has also served with Siemens, Typetec and Dataway, an Internet security company. Square One will help resellers better bridge the knowledge and expertise gap between IT and AV, he said. ‘IT resellers are buying into AV as an integral, not a peripheral part of the IT environment,’ said Stewart. The sector is reaching the stage of commoditisation that PCs reached about 10 years ago as prices fall and margin is to be found in integration and service.
In terms of hardware, large LCD displays and wireless projectors are the latest technologies set to rapidly increasing in popularity. Stewart said that people usually think only about the visual aspect of AV rather than the audio, something that the firm aims to educate more of their customers about.
Square One will link up with the approximately 30 resellers that work with Meritec, although Stewart hopes to increase this number to 80 over the next year. ‘We aim to make it as easy as possible for resellers to access the product range, training, roadshows and marketing assistance.’ He said the AV sector is an attractive one for resellers as there is little need to invest heavily in a support infrastructure as the products themselves are relatively simple and reliable.
The company will distribute plasma screen and projector products from Hitachi and Panasonic, for which Meritec is the official Irish distributor.
23/06/04
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