New distribution group aims to be Europe’s number one

The group will be led by Graham McBeth, previously managing director of the Abacus Group. He said Avnet Abacus is aiming to become Europe's leading interconnect, passives and emech (IPE) distributor and intends to do this by expanding its overall customer base. "Avnet had focused on tier 1 and 2 companies," he claimed, "while Abacus had 12,500 IPE customers in Europe." McBeth said Avnet Abacus would be 'IPE and more'. "We'll have a broad range of products and technology," he claimed. Included in the line up will be power supplies and batteries, as well as sensor products and traditional IPE offerings. Picking up on the previous Abacus outlook, Avnet Abacus will be 'pan European, but with a local focus'. That means some products will be available across the territory, while others will be only available in certain countries. "About a third of revenues will be from local franchises," McBeth believed, "so we will continue to develop local relationships." At launch, there are 189 franchises, of which 42 are pan European. "Having every supplier on a pan European basis, even if you could," he continued, "isn't something you're going to rush into." The approach will be slightly different in the UK in that the organisation will be a 'front end' for Avnet Silica's products. "That means Avnet Abacus customers will be able to buy products from, for example, Xilinx and National Semiconductor, that they could before," McBeth noted. The two companies generated sales of €330million in 2008 and McBeth sees no reason why this level shouldn't be increased substantially. "I'm proud of what we did at Abacus," he concluded, "but the platform we're going to be selling from is the place to be."