Resellers Cheer Rumors Of Apple Enterprise Sales Layoffs

Chatter about the layoffs began last Tuesday when ValleyWag said it was tipped off by a source in Apple's enterprise group.

Many people reacted to the rumors with skepticism, believing that it was a ploy to manipulate the company's stock.

True or not, some Apple resellers are reacting with a heavy dose of schadenfreude. A longtime complaint in the channel has been what some describe as Apple's predatory style of selling to the enterprise.

"Being a longtime Apple sales rep at a reseller, this has been a long time coming," wrote Raphael Jibo on the ValleyWag site. "Getting accounts stolen by Apple's so-called enterprise team. Poaching accounts that already buy the gear and undercutting our pricing by 10 percent. I'm glad they're letting those people go. Maybe [I'll] be able to get some of my lost business back."

Another Apple reseller who wanted to remain anonymous said he didn't know if the rumor was true, but then again, he said that resellers usually aren't told about changes in the company's sales strategies and that it generally happens "behind closed doors."

The reseller complained that Apple doesn't exactly make it easy for resellers to make profits. "I think that Apple's sales into the business market have always been a confusing strategy," he said. "Compare them to Dell or HP, where they have a very clear, well-defined strategy of selling to business customers."

The reseller also said that it's hard to compete with Apple's internal sales teams.

"Since they have people in their own sales group, the enterprise side has more price flexibility, and because they're Apple, they have more margins to play with."

Another wrinkle in the mix is that Apple sells to the enterprise through its retail stores.

"You're competing against the vendor on two levels; it's frustrating," he said. "It's never been clear to the customer about how they can get the best prices and the best services." Running up such roadblocks begs the question—how do you make money as an Apple reseller? The VAR said that pretty much the only way he makes money is by selling integrated services that Apple salespeople and stores don't provide.

"It's the convenience factor I can offer to customers, we're there locally and are readily available," he said. "I see profits from that rather than just selling boxes."