Credit: Dreamstime
The agreement that will see Leader Computers acquire the distribution business of Anyware Corporation from Harris Technology is centred around a desire to provide end-to-end solutions to the channel.
As revealed by ARN, terms of the deal will see Leader take control of a distributor with warehouses in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, backed up by more than 30 vendor brands.
“Leader’s purpose every day is to help our resellers grow their business and their profitability,” said Theo Kristoris, managing director of Leader. “Anyware has many unique accessory products that can help grow our resellers’ margins.
“Offering solutions to SMB/consumers is key for growth of the IT channel. When Anyware’s product range is combined with Leader’s we believe we can now offer a unique total one stop solution to resellers throughout Australia.
“We look forward to working closely with the IT reseller community in 2018 to help them grow and achieve their business goals.”
With the transaction expected to be completed by 3 October, Leader will acquire the majority of the inventory held by Anyware, estimated at approximately $4.5 million, account receivables, accounts payables and a goodwill amount of $250,000 subject to certain conditions.
Leader will also resume the warehouse lease agreement in New South Wales.
“Anyware has a strong reputation in the IT industry for the distribution of quality IT accessories and peripherals,” Kristoris added. “Leader is a 100 per cent trade-only IT distributor and loyal to channel.
“The Anyware team will come across to Leader, so resellers can continue long-term relationships they have built. Anyware will continue trading and it will be business as usual for some time to come.”
In buying only the distribution business of Harris Technology - and not any of the group’s other assets or businesses - Kristoris said Leader will offer the “same account terms” to resellers upon closing of the deal.
Furthermore, the channel will also gain access to “significant stock holdings” across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
“Leader resellers will have access over 30+ new vendors from Anyware including Brateck Monitor Arms, 8Ware Cables, Aten, AVlabs, Linkbasic, Mbeat, DX Racer Chairs plus many more,” added Simon Yang, product director at Leader.
“The same goes for Anyware’s resellers who will gain access to the product range from Leader’s portfolio.
“This includes notebooks, desktops and servers, alongside vendors such as ASUS, AOC, Corsair, Gigabyte, TP-Link, Ubiquiti, MSI, LG, Crucial, Lexar, G-SKILL, Sapphire, Antec, Asustor and Brother.”
New enhancements
From a partner perspective, Leader will also be increasing investment within solutions and services, in a bid to help the channel “diversify” portfolio offerings in the market.
“Strategic vendors like Ubiquiti Networks, 3CX, Yealink, HTek and Sennheiser help us deliver enterprise-grade business solutions into the IT channel,” explained Ben Klason, national enterprise manager at Leader.
“Resellers also benefit from access to Breeze Connect which is a leader subsidiary VOIP wholesaler that allows resellers fast and easy entry into the VOIP market, plus they earn industry-best trailing commissions for the life of the connection.”
Delving deeper, the acquisition also coincides with the launch of a revamped Leader DealerShop 2.0 website, following 12 months of development.
From 3 October, Anyware resellers will have access to this function via the same login and password currently in place today.
“Leader DealerShop 2.0 has exciting new features such as drop ship delivery from any of our five warehouses throughout Australia,” said Jaimie I’Anson, sales manager at Leader. “In metro areas this can be as fast as two hours.
“Other features include reporting on purchases, a new bundle system and the ability to produce quotes with the reseller’s logo to forward on to their end users.”
As reported by ARN, publicly-listed Harris Technology told shareholders on 31 August that the board had "carefully considered" the strategy and future direction of the company and decided that it was in the best interest of the shareholders that the organisations divests the Anyware arm of the group.
Specifically, the transaction will allow Harris Technology to focus on its consumer business strengthening the company’s balance sheet.
