European personal computer distributors grew their sales 33% to $30,000m in 1995, says the new report Distributors in Europe, The Top 600, from PC Europa, market researcher based in Colchester, Essex. Report editor Max Hotopf said, There is a common misconception that the European wholesale market for IT products is dominated by a few huge companies – Computer 2000, Ingram and Merisel. In fact, it remains surprisingly fragmented. The Top 10 players together account for only $13,900m, or 46%, of the total. There are over 70 IT distributors in Europe with sales of more than $100m. Some 9% of the distributors covered in PC Europa’s previous report have disappeared through merger, bankruptcy or cessation of activity, but Hotopf reckons new companies are still emerging in specialised areas such as ISDN, multimedia and communications.
