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DEALER GROUPS
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Integra was founded in 1997 as a
result of a merger between NDA and
Instat, the first dealer group of its
kind, so technically speaking, whilst
this year marks the group’s 20th
anniversary, its heritage actually
spans closer to three decades.
Today, the group, which has continued
to maintain its strong position within the
industry, despite many challenges over the
years, boasts a membership of around 250
independent dealers. “Our membership has
remained stable over the past couple of
years, the majority of members have been
with us since the beginning and many
former Instat members chose to stay with
us post-merger,” McDonough explained.
“As an industry we’ve faced some
tough challenges during the last two
decades. The number of independent
dealerships continues to shrink, largely
down to the increasing trend for mergers
and acquisitions, but also in part due to
business failures. We have seen margins
eroded in areas including EOS and new
opportunities come on the back of new
categories such as managed print, 3D
printers, FM and furniture for example.
However despite the ever-changing
climate, we have continued to grow and
strengthen the business for our members,”
he added.
Integra dealers have access to
exceptional buying power. This is further
boosted by the fact that Integra is a
member of Business Products Groups
International (BPGI), of which McDonough
is Chairman. “Integra membership is very
much about supporting dealers to run
their business, ensuring they have the right
tools and information to make conducting
business easier,” McDonough said.
Key differentiators
He added: “We pride ourselves on what
we firmly believe is a unique offer in terms
of differentiated marketing programmes,
creative services, flexible IT solutions, and
other added value and managed support
services.”
Integra sees its ‘Initiative’ brand as a
key differentiator for members who have
exclusive access to over 800 products
supported by a comprehensive marketing
programme, consumer website and
ongoing promotions.
With price increases a major concern
for the channel post-Brexit, the group
announced a price freeze on all Initiative
products up until December 2016. “We
felt it was key to offer stable pricing that
our members could reply on and the price
freeze was designed to allow them to
maintain their margins,” McDonough said.
Integra’s 2017 Marketing Programme,
Open for Business, features a wide range
of marketing material in both printed and
digital formats, enabling dealers to adopt a
multi-faceted approach to promoting their
products and services.
It now incorporates new marketing
solution ‘Infuse’. This all-encompassing
offering gives members access to a range
of flexible, managed services to generate
awareness and help support the marketing
function within their businesses.
Co-operative model
In October 2015, Integra purchased
100% of the group’s share capital from
independent investor, Hemel Holdings Ltd.
“The board took the decision to conduct
the buyback as we believed that the
interests of our members were not best
2017 is set to be an exciting one for the UK and Ireland’s leading office and IT
supplies dealer group.
PrintIT Reseller
caught up with Aidan McDonough, Integra
Business Solutions’ CEO, to talk about the group’s past, present and future
Integra celebrates 20 years
served by a private investor,” McDonough
said. “What we have done now is to revert
to a co-operative model, creating a business
that is owned and run by the dealers and
we have recently issued shares to all our
members. This not only allows us to protect
our members’ best interests, but also to
continue our focused approach to growth
and the further development of services and
solutions to benefit the independent dealer
and our industry partners.”
Integra will be holding elections to
appoint three new non-executive directors
to the board early this year.
The repurchase was swiftly followed
by the group unveiling its new company
name, Integra Business Solutions and
new corporate identity, a move designed
to further emphasise its commitment
to remaining ahead of the game in a
dynamically changing industry.
“The new company name and identity
was designed to better reflect the dealer
group we have evolved into and to
underpin our core values and vision for a
bright future with dynamic, progressive
dealers,” McDonough explained.
National Conference
Integra’s ‘Celebrating 20 Years’ National
Conference will take place at the Crowne
Plaza, Stratford-Upon-Avon on September
28. Members and key partners will be invited
to celebrate in style and to enjoy an exciting
line-up of guest speakers and entertainment
at a ‘Glitz & Glamour’ Gala Dinner.
To celebrate its milestone anniversary
and to thank members for their continued
support, Integra will also be announcing
some exciting initiatives throughout 2017
in the form of special supplier promotions,
additional pricing support, rebates and
prize draws, with some overseas trips to
be won.
“Integra’s 20th Anniversary marks an
important milestone and is a reflection
of the ongoing support and commitment
shown by our members and key partners.
As a group we are all looking forward to
continued success in 2017,” McDonough
said in conclusion.
With price
increases
a major
concern for
the channel
post-Brexit,
the group
announced
a price
freeze on
all Initiative
products
Aidan McDonough,
CEO,
Integra
Business Solutions
