The clouds outside were pitch black and torrential rain pounded the windows. Inside, on the 38th floor of the Gherkin building in the City of London, the mood could not have been more of a contrast. An exultant Steve Rawlins, CEO of Anglia announced an agreement with Analog Devices to be a UK & Ireland distributor which comes into effect on May 2.
And Anglia has put its money where its mouth is. The stock investment alone is over £600,000 or 750,000 Euro. Two field application engineers dedicated to the Analog Devices line will be hired, with a likelihood of two more to follow. Extra external sales personnel will also be drafted in.
The agreement covers the entire Analog Devices product line from powerful SHARC and Blackfin processors to op amps with stops at power management and MEMs and sensors in between.
Rawlins expects a rich return on Anglia's investment.
"This agreement could see us double our current £42m sales in the next three to five years," he told EPN's DistiBlog. "We expect to take a good share of the £160m analogue IC market in the UK and Ireland, and our target is to increase our share of the distributor total available market in the UK and Ireland from 4.2% to 10%."
For Analog Devices this is another step in its ambition to achieve double-digit growth of its semiconductor business in the European region over three years.
Carsten Suckrow, Analog Devices Vice President of Sales for EMEA said, “Analog Devices believes it has a substantial opportunity to increase its share of the European semiconductor market, and Anglia has convincingly demonstrated that as a channel partner they can make a real and substantial contribution towards achieving this objective.”
Shalini Palmer, Regional Sales Director, North Europe for Analog Devices agreed the agreement with a local, rather than global distributor was a shift in strategy. "It is a move out of our comfort zone, which we think offers fantastic opportunities. Analog Devices can grow its business in the UK and Ireland where there is a rich mix of customers and new markets. We are targeting long-term growth in the UK to increase our market share and we need a partner to complement our exIsting distributor network to help us to achieve that aim."
She cited Anglia's customer focus, proactive approach to the market, dedicated customer support, their passion to succeed, and the company's profitability. "They are ready and able to invest to grow our business," she added.
Crucially there is little overlap either in Anglias franchises or customers. Said Palmer, "These are important considerations in selecting a distribution partner."
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