Comms Dealer has been praised for protecting the interests of its readers and the wider channel following the removal of high margin telephony products from Nimans' controversial cut-price end user e-warehouse, Nicomm.

The Nicomm website sells products directly to customers much cheaper than on the Nimans trade website - undermining comms resellers - and many in the channel were up in arms when Comms Dealer exposed the Nicomm website earlier this month.

One dealer who wishes to remain anonymous told Comms Dealer: "I recently referred one of our customers to the Nimans trade website, as it was easier for them to choose from the array of headsets available. There are not any trade prices on the site. Nimans proceeded to set my customer up with an account and offered him discount. The customer then thanked me for referring him to Nimans. Dealers should be aware that Nimans is a competitor to the trade - with or without the Nicomm website."

Vincent Leahy, joint Managing Director of Trust Distribution, said 'fair play' to Comms Dealer for bringing Nicomm to the industry's attention: "Thank you Comms Dealer for diving beneath the channel surface to question some of the more underhand tactics at play. A big thumbs up for putting the interest of your readers first."

According to speculation, industry powerhouse Avaya also applied pressure on Nimans prior to the system phones being removed from sale.

Rocom's Managing Director, Richard Carter, commented: "The removal of the big system phones from Nicomm represents a move towards common sense, but there is still some way to go before the channel can rest easy about this website and the motivation behind it."

Comms Dealer editor Stuart Gilroy commented: "Comms Dealer, the Channel's Champion, exemplifies independent and professional journalism, and in making the channel aware of the Nicomm website we have underlined yet again that we are the industry's most trusted and professional magazine, flying the flag for our readers while others nail their flags to other masts. The power of independent media in the channel cannot be underestimated and Comms Dealer's mission to reveal business activities that work against its readers has been validated."

Natalie Foers, MTV Telecom's Managing Director, stated: "Thank you to the channel magazine that clearly supports the reseller market. We are pleased to see that system phones have been removed from the Nicomm website."

Comms Dealer publisher Nigel Sergent added: "There is still more work to be done to resolve channel conflicts, but the removal of high margin telephony products from the Nicomm site is a welcome start."

Editor's comment
What does it mean when an early pioneer of the UK comms channel deviates from its roots and branches into e-tailing, effectively competing with its own business partners? Is it the inevitable consequence of a changing market? A decisive move to secure greater market share at the expense of resellers? Or an unfathomable bombshell?

Distributor Nimans reached a turning-point when it launched Nicomm, a cut price end user e-warehouse that sells products directly to customers much cheaper than they are available to resellers on the Nimans trade website. The front ends of these operations are poles apart, with no obvious relationship between the e-tailing warehouse and the Nimans website. However, the products share a common ground and are shipped out from under a common roof.

This dual approach to market is unusual in the UK comms channel and not surprisingly has angered and astounded many of the distributor's partners, while many in the wider channel are equally aghast. Perhaps the industry's stunned reaction has been overstated in the light of Julian Niman's robust defence of Nicomm, saying that the Nicomm website is no more than an update of an existing e-commerce operation. Nimans is after all doing what it does best - shifting boxes quickly - and has tapped into the rapid growth of e-tailing and customers' growing acceptance of online shopping.

Although we do not have the benefit of feedback from Nimans - which is opting to keep its channel strategy behind closed doors - we can nevertheless make educated assumptions on the possible thinking behind Nimans' strategy based on the evidence available, and how this might pan out in the future.

From the end users' perspective, in many ways Nicomm provides a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to a comms dealer. The direct sales arm undercuts the reseller channel on price, with faster delivery times and lower delivery costs. Nimans' dual strategy is based on one of the best logistical operations in the comms industry. But despite the apparent logic in making the most of logistic capabilities, there remains rife confusion over Nimans' two pronged approach, and the term 'madness' has almost become a chorus among a growing band of disaffected resellers.

To make sense of Nimans' venture into e-tailing, it is perhaps helpful to invoke George Orwell's notion of Doublethink as featured in his classic novel '1984', the definition of which is, 'The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them'. Ignoring the contradiction, and turning a blind eye to doublethink's self-deception, helps to create a tangible sense of one's own infallibility, which might explain why Nimans overlooked the core principles that underpin channel business.

Stuart Gilroy
Editor