quote:Originally posted by Art Post:
MFP Wars "Death of the Independent Dealer"The Copier business was once a wonderful business, where the manufacturers only sold their goods through Authorized Dealers. We had competition, however it was healthy because everyone was on the same playing field.
The Dealers who sold the most got the best pricing, and the Dealers who sold the lease just had to grin and bear and that's the way it was.
Over time, the business model matured and companies like Danka, and Alco (Ikon) emerged to buy some of the largest or most profitable dealerships in the nation. At one time Alco (Ikon) was a distributor for Sharp copiers, and then one day Alco (Ikon) dropped Sharp and the Japanese Manufacturers shook in their boots. From what I remember, and I could be wrong, Sharp lost about 80% of their North America distribution in one day. Every since then the Japanese manufacturers have been buying dealers to preserve market share.
Which brings me to a line in Tommy Boy:
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Art I too am an independent dealer and have trouble getting deals with schools or govt. agencies. How can we bargain with the OEMs to get a piece of the pie. I have dealings with schools on rentals but have a hard time getting new equipment in there.
Any suggestions? If you want to email me my email is dosystems7@yahoo.com
Thanks and God Bless!
Leonard Garcia Jr. at Dependable Office Systems