Epson: Cellnet not performing to expectations

Michael Pleasants, director of marketing communications, Epson told CRN the vendor constantly reviews the performance of its distributors to ensure the channel is functioning efficiently.

“In this case Cellnet has not been performing to our expectations. We have been trying to work with them over several months to rectify the problems as we see them, but that has not been successful. As a result we agreed with Cellnet that the relationship will end on the 31st of March,” he said.

Stephen Harrison, managing director at Cellnet, told CRN that the split was amicable and there were no hard feelings between Epson and Cellnet.

“At the end of the day, if it’s not a win win situation for both parties then it’s better to just walk away. We spoke to Epson early in the year and said if things didn’t work out then we would proceed with an amicable departure,” said Harrison.

He added that the distributor was looking at a number of vendors and was in talks with them about striking up a distribution partnership.

“There are a number of vendors we are talking to, however we are not close enough to let anyone know who they are. We are refining our IT vendor range before we bring any new vendors on board,” he said.

Epson’s distributors currently consist of Ingram Micro, Synnex, Alloys, BMS, Compuwholesale, Johnson Technology Corporation (Tasmania) and XIT Leader, said Pleasants.