Xcel Software Source Corp., a privately held distributor based in Mississauga, Ont., is looking to grow its business and customer base by adding more unique product offerings such as accessories and peripheral items to its line card, said Helen Terzievski, the company’s vice-president of operations.
The tier two distributor was founded in 1995 by Terzievski and her business partner and husband, Peter. In total, Xcel employs 15 people with its sales, administration and warehousing all carried out from its Mississauga location. Terzievski said Xcel also has a representative working in a home office in Quebec to help service Canada’s French-speaking markets. The company does about 99 per cent of its business here in Canada, with the rest going through the U.S.
“It’s always beneficial for us to have opportunities to expand into other markets (U.S.), where agreements allow for it,” she said. “We’ll be looking at some vendors on the accessory side in the new year with the potential to expand.”
Xcel, Terzievski said, works with the Canadian independent retail channel and has over 40 vendor partners and 1,000 active customers in cities and rural areas across the country. The distributor’s product offerings include: application products, anti-virus solutions, PC and Mac-based software, peripherals and accessories for Macs. The company’s channel community consists of independent resellers, value-added resellers (VARs) and system builders.
“We base Xcel on superior customer service and operational efficiencies,” Terzievski said. “We don’t have any set up fees or minimum orders and we’re in close touch with our independents, no matter how small or big they are.”
When customers call in, Terzievski said the distributor can within minutes segment all of its vendor-partner specific products according to whatever the customer’s looking for.
For vendors, she said many already think they’ve got most of the Canadian market covered. However, she said there are still plenty of market opportunities out there.
“There’s still a lot to be done in Canada,” Terzievski said. “Where we come in is with the smaller to mid-sized customer base. Vendors would expand their sales by giving us an opportunity to take on some lines and by having their products across Canada in rural areas, which will give them brand awareness.”
In the year ahead, Terzievski said Xcel will be looking to expand into the accessory markets to help its partners with margin opportunities, as Xcel realizes just how slim hardware margins are.
Over the last several years, Xcel has enjoyed an annual growth rate of 10 per cent each year, she said. More recently, the distributor has seen huge growth and demand for its Mac-based business unit and has seen growth overall on the Apple side of things. Every year, the distributor adds on about 10 vendors to its line card too.
“I look at us as a one-stop shop for all distribution needs,” Terzievski said. “We focus on finding products that some of the mass channels don’t carry because we’re looking for unique items to give back to our resellers.”
