Harris Technology acquires Australian audio, video and multimedia distributor Audion

Harris Technology Group has acquired IT distributor Audion in the latest move to expand its existing distribution business, Anyware, with new vendors and sales channel opportunities.

The full cost of the purchase was not disclosed, however, a $150,000 good will payment was revealed to CRN.

The acquisition is the latest in a string of deals spanning two years of investment and rebranding for what is now the Harris Technology Group.

Established in 2006, Audion distributes audio, video and multimedia accessories to conventional disties and major retail chains across Australia.

Some of its key vendors include Danish audio brand Bang & Olufsen, German gaming brand ROCCAT, Netherlands’ brand Allocacoc, Chinese speaker producer Edifier and Italian bag maker Tucano.

Garrison Huang, HT Group chief executive and Anyware managing director, said between six and seven staff will join the group in the acquisition, which is expected to grow the company's revenue by 10 percent. 

Huang also told CRN the new set of tier-one customers, which includes JB Hi-Fi, Myer, EB Games and JR Duty Free, and access to new brands would enhance the company's reseller business going forward.

"Since the merger, we have been focusing on fixing the fundamentals of the business operation such as cutting costs, increasing efficiency, while at the same time looking for opportunities in organic growth as well as growth through acquisition," he said.

"In the area of distribution, we are committed to our resellers, big or small, and will continue to enhance this side of the business. The newly acquired business of Audion and associated brands will certainly help us to service our resellers better. Between the Anyware and Audion business, we see a lot of synergies across not only the brands, but also the customer bases. We look forward to a very prosperous 2017 year." 

In March it was revealed that online retailer Shoply would merge with Anyware. Huang, then Anyware’s managing director, injected $1 million from another entity into Shoply to acquire a 19.99 percent stake in the publicly traded company and become the majority shareholder and CEO.

The Harris Technology name, which was acquired by Anyware from Westfarmers in 2015, was used as the rebranded company when it went public on the ASX in late July.

Following the listing, focus turned to building the Harris Technology online store brand, with Huang telling CRN that eStore and Warcom, acquired by Shoply for $1.8 million in 2015, would soon stop operating in order to focus on Harris.

Anyware Corporation was founded in 1996 focused on distributing IT accessories. It now distributes more than 50 brands, including TP-Link, Asus Wireless, DXRacer, Plantronics and Aten, to resellers and big retailers.