14 Nov, 2005
EWG and Canon seal strategic partnership

EWG and Canon have agreed at the Canon Expo 2005 in Paris to deepen their strategic partnership. The focus of the closer cooperation will be first on Canon’s Consumer Imaging Products (CCI), but may be extended to other product categories in the future.
We recognize that the unique setup gives EWG enormous flexibility and effective reach across Europe”, says Rob Rasing, Head of Distribution CCI of Canon Europe. “We are convinced that EWG can deliver profitable growth to Canon and help us reach our ambitious targets in Europe”,he continues.

While strong ties have existed since long between Canon and the individual EWG partners the agreement now foresees a deepening and expansion of this strategic partnership also at the European level. “We are impressed with Canon’s technology line up and its ambitious plans for Europe”, says Thomas C. Weissmann, President of EWG. “With our nimble and highly effective structure we believe we can contribute significantly towards reaching those targets”, he continues.

“Canon is a long term partner of ours, and is but natural that we would seek to strengthen the relation with such a highly reputed company”, he adds. Canon at its Expo 2005 in Paris had unveiled a range of new and exciting products as well as its plan to take Canon Europe revenues beyond € 10 billion by 2010. It has also confirmed its commitment to the channel as the predominant route to market and a catalyst for Canon’s success.

EWG was founded in 2002. It represents the leading vendors of IT hard- and software products and has been acknowledged first by HP as a Pan European Partner. During 2004 a European wide agreement was also signed with Fujitsu-Siemens Computers. The five partner companies in the alliance in 2004 posted consolidated net sales of EUR 4.4 billion, making EWG the third-largest distributor in Europe.

Further information:
EWG: Thomas C. Weissmann, President European Wholesale Group, Tel. +41 41 266 18 02
Canon: Rob Rasing, Head of Distribution CCI of Canon Europe, Tel. +31 20 545 8358
ALSO: Maya von Krannichfeldt, Head of Corporate Communications ALSO Holding,
Tel. +41 41 266 18 023