BPI News Extra
CONTINENTAL SHIFT Netherlands based tech distributor Transcontinenta has set up a UK office – Transcontinenta UK – staffed by some very familiar faces to the photo trade. BPI News meets the team at their Slough HQ to talk brands and future plans…
W
hile the name of European distributor Transcontinenta may not be familiar to some in the photo trade, the faces fronting its newly established UK operation will be. Interim Managing Director Simon Coleman you’ll know from his long tenure with Nikon and most recently Hasselblad, while Jim Mackay – providing a consulting role – Category Manager Jeremy Martin and Marketing Manager Jane Nicholson you’ll recognise from their years with Intro2020, where, among other brands, they were responsible for selling Tamron into the UK market (more on that in a minute). With the seven-strong team currently fleshed out by National Sales Manager Andy Loughlin and Area Sales Manager James Finch – both out on the road, as should be, when BPI News visited – along with Alex Cooke looking after
Internal Sales & Customer Support, the feeling is that there is many years of experience helping this new operation get underway. Retailers unaware of Transcontinenta’s offerings until now will therefore be further reassured. The icing on the cake is the list of brands Transcontinenta currently offers into the UK trade, including – from December 1st – Tamron lenses. These join the Transcontinenta-owned Cullmann tripod, bag and flashgun brand from Germany, Boya microphones, Angelbird SD storage media, Hyper USB hubs for Mac users, plus Zhiyun gimbals and stabilisers for smartphones and cameras of every variety (the latter currently distributed to agreed retailers only). Products target both the novice and the pro, while serving the photo, video, mobile and computer peripherals markets in tandem. Such a broad
Transcontinenta UK’s dream team (L to R): Consultant Jim Mackay, Internal Sales & Customer Support Alex Cooke, Category Manager Jerry Martin, Marketing Manager Jane Nicholson and Interim Managing Director Simon Coleman
range positions the firm as a veritable ‘one stop shop’ for specialist retailers.
A ‘NEW’ COMPANY… WITH A LONG HISTORY The roots of Transcontinenta stretch back to its founding in the Netherlands in 1956, a decade which saw the birth of rock ‘n’ roll and the teenager. Fast-forward to 1992 and a management buy out, and we find the company as it is today, owned and run by CEO Gerrie Geijssen. Stock is held in a high tech warehouse in Holland (see right) – with delivery time to the UK quoted as 48 hours, though there is the capability to shorten this to 24 hours at a premium if UK photo independents have urgent need, or their customers demand it. A pan European set up with its eyes on becoming the leading distributor in South West Europe, Transcontinenta has
Distributor of:
Get in touch with Transcontinenta now to discover what its brands and product lines can do for your business. 16 December 2019 / January 2020 | BPI News
www.bpinews.co.uk
