Wave closure a boost for Fujitsu distributors

UK: Fujitsu is making a number of changes in the wake of the closure of distributor Wave Air Conditioning, which was directly owned by Fujitsu General.

The first move is the appointment of former Wave employee Stuart Eagleton to the role of national accounts manager. He will be responsible for brining in new business through working with higher end customers.

In a further appointment, long-time Fujitsu employee Tony Nielsen has been appointed consultant sales manager to develop stronger relationships between Fujitsu and consultants.

“Around £159m worth of equipment is currently sold directly by manufacturers to end users or major contractors,” explained Fujitsu’s sales and marketing director Ian Carroll. “It is that sector of the market that we are aiming at with these new appointments, with the intention of channelling as much of the new business as possible through our distributors.

Plans are also in place to direct more business through its nationwide network of independent distributors.

“Of course, there will always be some contracts that are so big they have to come direct to us and there will always be some customers who want to deal with the manufacturer, and we will continue to provide that service. However, where possible we will work with distributors and encourage customers to go through that channel.

“Where we have to go direct, we will be completely transparent with our distributors. If we are totally honest, there have been misunderstandings in the past and I am determined to win back the complete trust of our distributors.

“This is one of the reasons the decision was taken to close Wave. While we have always treated it as an arms-length, third-party operation, it is understandable that distributors would be sceptical when it is effectively owned by the manufacturer.

“Wave’s customers will be encouraged to move their business to other Fujitsu distributors. We are dedicated to arranging this transition as smoothly as possible to not interrupt the daily business of Fujitsu customers and letters have been sent to each of them informing them of the shutdown process.

“The main thrust of all these actions is to increase the total market share of Fujitsu air conditioning and provide more business for everyone. We have a very strong message of reliability, customer support and product range, and as we grow our distributors will grow with us.”