There is a “massive gap” in the market for a mid-sized AV distributor, former Midwich director Lee Baker claimed as he talked through his return to the space.
Baker and fellow Midwich alumni Iain Campbell have joined AV distributor onemedia as Commercial Director and Managing Director, respectively, as part of a management buyout.
The duo left AV distribution giant Midwich in 2019 following its IPO.
“In the AV distribution space, you’ve got two or three broadliners involved in AV, and then a smattering of small companies that don’t seem to be gaining much traction,” Baker told IT Channel Oxygen.
“I think there’s a massive gap in the middle.
“A lot of disties have disappeared in the last 10-15 years and there’s a gap for a good-sized, strong AV distributor. We want to focus on workspace, meeting rooms and signage. It’s a big market, that’s growing, and we think it’s a good opportunity.”
“I really missed distribution”
Baker and Campbell have become shareholders in onemedia alongside existing executives Chris Wood, John Jeffreys and Will Hetherington (with Tyson Reed and Rob Sherrif moving on).
Baker had meant to return to the industry after a year or two, but then the pandemic hit, he explained.
“There wasn’t really a lot of opportunity to invest in something, but I set up a business called Re-sauce with [AV industry stalwart] Gordon Dutch, so that kept my foot in the door,” Baker said.
“While I really enjoyed it, I really did miss distribution as I’d done it for 17 years and enjoyed dealing with the manufacturers, understanding the product and working with resellers and integrators.
“I wasn’t sure whether anything would come up again, where I could get back into distribution as an owner rather than an employee, which I wasn’t interested in. When Iain and I came across the guys at onemedia they were just looking for some consultancy in terms of how to move forward a business that had been quite successful. They knew they could do a lot more, as AV is a big market and is still growing.
“They said ‘do you think you’d want to come in with us and put your money where your mouth is?’”
“We understand the market”
Baker spent 17 years in AV distribution, 14 of them at Midwich, with True Colours founder Campbell (pictured below) clocking up 30 years in the space.
The global pro AV market is forecast to grow at 5.9% annually between 2022 and 2027 to hit $263bn, according to Avixa figures cited in Midwich’s most recent annual report.
“We understand the market and how to take the technology to market,” Baker said.
“When you’re a small business, it’s all hands on deck and everyone is very busy. To have someone come in and look from the outside, who understands the market and customers and how to move it forwards – that’s what they’re looking for from us.
“We’ve invested in it personally. We’re not going to be here for six to 12 months and then going on holiday again – we want to do it because we’re passionate about the AV market.
“During the five years I’ve been off, I had lots of manufacturers and resellers/integrators contacting me, or met a lot of them at different things, and a lot of them said they missed having a good-sized distributor they can deal with, but that’s not too big.”
onemedia has a play in the IT channel, Baker stressed.
“onemedia offers a lot of wraparound services with their AV technologies. My message for any IT dealer looking for a real value-add, technical distributor is come to us – if we don’t come to you first,” he said.
“If you fast forward a year, people might be quite surprised at where we’re at, as we have some quite exciting plans.”
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
