Luxembourg-based ComputerLand Europe Operations SA is to act as a centralised European purchasing and distribution unit no more. The ComputerLand Corp subsidiary is to concentrate on providing management, financial and technical consultancy for its 115 European franchisees instead. It says the decision has been forced by major manufacturers like IBM Corp and Hewlett-Packard Co, which prefer to set different rates for each European country rather than supporting its ‘pan-European’ vision. Franchisees in London declined to comment, but unless they get the bulk of their stock from central buying, many are likely to wonder whether it’s worth paying royalties just for the ComputerLand name.
