Chairman of consortium hopes more like-minded businesses will become members

Reseller consortium the Concert Group is looking for new members to strengthen its fight against larger channel players as competition in the convergence space becomes increasingly fierce.

The Concert Group is a consortium of 13 VARs that was formed to create a larger presence and greater buying power. Members of the consortium still maintain their existing business brands.

Bahman Rahimi, chairman of the Concert Group and managing director of reseller BDR voice and data, told CRN: “Concert is a group of like-minded businessmen from within the industry. We did not want to sell our firm into larger dealers, but wanted the benefits of being a larger firm. We get together on a monthly basis to discuss best practice and share information on an open basis.”

Rahimi said the Concert Group formed five years ago with six members. The group has grown to 13 members and is still looking for other businesses to join them.

He added that being part of the group enables the firms involved to get a better package from suppliers.

Rahimi said: “We would like to add a few more like-minded members. Originally the ideal number of members was 20, but that might go up to the mid 20s or 30s. The group has given us a reasonably level playing field with larger players, and possibility even a better position, because our overheads are not as high as some of the larger players.”

Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at research firm EuroLAN, said: “The consortium will be looking to get better rates from distributors. However, I doubt being part of a consortium is going to cut much ice with end-users.”