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www.printit
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Print.IT Reseller
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29
Although revenue fell by 17% on
the previous year, the firm posted a
profit of £37,000 pre-tax, reversing
the £418,000 pre-tax loss reported at
the 31 December interim stage. The
turnaround can be attributed to cost
cuts, including a significant reduction
in its wage bill; earlier in the year it
reduced its headcount by 13.
In a statement to the Stock Exchange,
Northamber reported that market conditions
were less than certain. The company said,
“Turnover in the first quarter was marginally
lower than for the final quarter of the
previous financial year, a reflection of the
contraction in our sector, the summer
months and the Olympics.”
Yet despite the market conditions,
Northamber is in a strong position. It is both
debt free and cash rich. Its debt free cash
balance at the end of September was
£1.3 million. It owns its Head office building
in Chessington, Surrey and earlier this year,
purchased the freehold of its 77,600 sq ft
warehouse in Weybridge for £6.35m plus
costs.
Focused on
delivering profitable
revenue
The company said, “The strength of our
Balance Sheet has always been one of our
basic tenets and with the purchase of the
warehouse, this tangible asset is added to
the freehold of our eleven year old, 18,000
sq ft Davis Road Chessington offices.”
“Northamber’s offering ranges from a
printer cable through to a high-end server
and everything in between,” says Dominic
Hoskins, Product Manager Print. “We trade
with around 4,000 individual resellers
every year and our business is based on our
resellers’ reach. We have and will continue
to focus on the SMB and mid-market –
sectors which haven’t been as hard hit as
the enterprise market in terms of volumes
and margins.”
Proven expertise
Hoskins says that far from adopting a box
shifting model, the company adds value to
its resellers offering a suite of services that
supports them in growing their businesses.
“For example, we have a demo centre at
Head Office, a facility that is used by both
vendors and customers and where we
regularly run training course and seminars.”
Customer service is high on the agenda
and it’s clear that Northamber enjoys high
retention levels due to its willingness to go
the extra mile. “Many of our resellers enjoy
long standing relationships with customers
and are given the opportunity to win new
business, but haven’t got the resource or
in some cases the knowledge, to deliver a
bespoke solution.
“At our premises we will configure kit
UK-based Northamber, the longest established trade-only distributor
of IT equipment, has reported a return to profit for the full year
ending 30 June 2012.
to individual customer requirements. We will
also deliver the complete solution to the end-
user ready to go and in one box, which also
has the knock-on effect of reducing waste.”
With over three decades in business,
Northamber has proven expertise in the
logistics of distribution and according to
Hoskins; next-day really does mean next-day.
“If we take an order five minutes before
the office closes for the evening, we can
guarantee that the goods will arrive the next
morning within a specified time window.”
Large stock holding and easy access to
the M25 helps ensure the firm delivers on
its promise. “Our size also enables us to
help smaller resellers win large tenders, for
example, if an order for 1,000 units with
delivery required in stages, we will configure,
store and ship to the end-user as required,”
says Hoskins.
Despite a large and diverse product
offering when it comes to print, Northamber
focuses on just three brands – Brother Ricoh
and OKI. Hoskins says that the range covers
desktop inkjet through to high end laser and
MFPs, which combined with complementary
solutions such as scanners and software,
is a sufficient offer to its customers and
reinforces that it’s the value add and extra
services that ensures repeat business.
After a return to profit, Northamber
is focused on staying true to its current
business, maintaining efforts to concentrate
on delivering profitable revenue, alongside
its well repeated mantra of controlling costs
whilst taking whatever opportunities that
emerge.
www.northamber.com