VOW is warning resellers that grey stock of the Q-Connect private label range of low-cost office essentials has reached the UK market.
The leading business products and facilities supplies wholesaler has said that only a small amount of the grey stock, which is being sold at reduced prices, is relevant to the domestic market and it believes some of the goods on offer are at least two years old.
Q-Connect products are aimed at providing a high quality, attractively-priced alternative to brand name office essentials. Established in 1998, the range comprises 70 product groups and over 5,000 lines – including business machines, writing implements and computer consumables – all conforming to the highest EU standards.
The range’s products are available exclusively through members of INTERACTION, the Belgian-based alliance of wholesalers and distributors from more than 20 European countries, which developed and owns the Q-Connect brand.
VOW is the sole wholesaler based in the UK or Republic of Ireland authorised to sell Q-Connect products, as its parent, evo Group, is the only INTERACTION member located in either country.
Andrew Stacey, marketing and merchandise director with evo Group, said: “The grey stock has come from a Dutch reseller and it’s therefore unsurprising that only a limited number of its lines are relevant to the UK market.
“The reseller concerned also left INTERACTION some time ago and therefore has no access to the current Q-Connect range. This explains why a significant percentage of the grey stock is toner products that we believe are over two years old. These can be identified easily, as they use the European KF code, rather than the VOW one.”
Andrew said evo Group had spoken to INTERACTION and were confident there was no more grey stock to come. He also believed measures now in place would ensure a similar episode did not occur in the future.
He said: “We’d ask resellers to bear in mind that the only wholesaler based in the UK authorised to sell Q-Connect products is VOW. We can supply from the whole range, with everything we provide being up-to-date and fully relevant to the British market. I’d add that neither we nor INTERACTION have any intention of changing these arrangements.”
Resellers with queries about, or wanting to order items from, the Q-Connect range can contact their VOW Account Manager for further information.