Toshiba has named ex-Ricoh regional sales manager Carl Day as its new sales director, where he will be is tasked with convincing the firm’s dealers – plus the rest of the print sector – that Toshiba is a serious contender in the market.
Day admits Toshiba’s channel partners have borne the brunt of a period of cost-cutting measures after the firm saw a downturn in its fortunes a few years ago, due in part to some dubious decision making on the vendor’s part, which included introducing direct business to its original 100 percent channel model.
Cost cutting
UK MD Adam Sheppard faced the challenge of turning the situation around. According to Day, “It was a tough job but Adam put the company back into the black. He had to cut cost from the business.”
Day admits that “the cuts hit the dealers in terms of incentives and resources,” and that despite Toshiba currently doing well in the US and Asia Pacific regions, it still struggles in Europe. However, it is now his job to establish a network of dealers in the UK, and reassure the market that “Toshiba is a player.
Confidence
“I hope the market sees the confidence coming out of Toshiba at the moment,” he tells Channel Pro. “The message is ‘look how we’ve changed’. [Toshiba] is back on the map with a new range of products, and I’m very excited; I’m treating it like a new business.”
He adds: “We’re helping resellers come up with inventive ideas, working together to dovetail into their business. The dealers are open to ideas and enthusiasm, and extremely loyal.”
With currently 50 dealers – 35 actively selling Toshiba – the firm is targeting the office and office colour print markets with a core range of entry level, high quality colour products. As well as growing with its existing partners, the vendor is particularly looking to grow its dealer base in London and the Midlands.
Contender
Toshiba says it getting a lot of interest from dealers on the back of recent big direct wins, such as Santander and Virgin Media, which, Day argues, validates the firm's product portfolio and its position as a contender in the market.
