Kensington Recruits New Partners

Chris Franey, a Channelweb.com 2008 Top 25 Channel Executive who took the helm of the Kensington computer accessories business in December, spoke with Channelweb.com's Steven Burke about Kensington's strategy to recruit new partners.

Franey, who previously led a channel resurgence at IT products giant Samsung, said he sees an accessories boom that is resulting in double-digit sales growth for a number of solution providers and retailers.

As the new president of the Computer Products Group of ACCO Brands, which markets a wide variety of computer accessories under the Kensington brand, Franey says he sees big opportunities even in the midst of the economic downturn. Below are excerpts from the interview.

Will you look at adding retailers and solution providers?

We are aggressively recruiting partners at all levels across all product lines. We will do it in a way that grows the pie vs. a share shift. We will bring value to our channel partners. There is great opportunity. Attach is where the growth is.

So you are going to put together a channel program that will make it more profitable for VARs or retailers to do more of the attach?

There is huge double-digit growth in certain categories. We want to help the channel understand where the opportunities are and then give them the tools necessary to go capitalize on that. And then support them in their efforts to get it done.

What is your call to action for the channel for 2009 as you take the helm of Kensington?

With the diverse product set Kensington has with over 400 different products, it is all about opportunity and about educating the various partners on what we bring to the table and how we can help them grow.

Security obviously is something that Kensington has done for a long time. We are very innovative. We invented the Micro Slot. Power is also obviously a huge growth category for us.

It is all about the attach. Every channel partner I have talked to is talking about minimum double-digit growth in the attach business. I am not talking about 11 percent growth. I am talking about 20-plus percent in the various categories. So this is an exciting time.

It is difficult to sell high ASP (Average Selling Price) items (right now). So a lot of people are delaying upgrades of a laptop or monitor or whatever. But they are willing to invest in accessories that will make their lives easier and simpler.

So when it comes to power, ask yourself how many different devices do you carry around? So what if you had one device that worked for power? You'd want to be able to power your USB and recharge your USB at the same time and have it work with multiple devices in multiple places. That's a great growth category. Double-digit growth [is] easy. And it can work in the car or a plane. Not a problem. Products for iPhone and iPod are killer.

We have a Bluetooth adapter that is universal, wireless and has swappable batteries and works with any phone. It clips to a visor and works with multiple cell devices. Up to three different devices can be connected to this. So if you are in a car and have two different cell phones, you can switch between the two. A lot of times I carry this around instead of a Jawbone (Bluetooth headset).

Talk about Kensington's product depth at over 400 products?

That is the one thing that attracted me to Kensington in terms of what they bring to the table. Relative to B2B and B2C, Kensington is not as well-known as it should be. So there is plenty of opportunity. The company has been around for a while. It has a really good, strong brand. When you say Kensington, people know Kensington. Maybe they are not as familiar with it today as yesterday, but that will change. I have a strong talented parade of people here and a great culture. That is what attracted me to the company.

Next: Top Three Priorities For 2009

What are your priorities for 2009?

My top priorities are to bring more innovative products to the table in faster time and do it simultaneously on a global basis, and to balance out our channel portfolio. Right now as a company at a high level, our revenues are pretty well-balanced between B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer), which is great. If you break it down to the product level, it is not as balanced there as we'd like it to be. So there is opportunity there.

What specifically are you talking about in terms of that product balance?

Power, for example, is more consumer-oriented than B2B. On an enterprise level, it would make life easier for some IT managers to adopt a universal power solution that works across multiple devices like laptops.

Look at the security market and the attach opportunity relative to a notebook. We all know at the consumer level and the B2B channel that laptops go head-to-head with desktops. There are more laptops sold in the B2C market vs. the B2B market. So from a security standpoint, the attach rate should be higher in consumer than it is in business. But it is the opposite. Our security business is about 80/20 relative to B2B vs. B2C.

Our universal docking stations do well in B2B. There is no reason they shouldn't do well in B2C. How many laptops do you have in your house? Laptops are becoming like televisions. For an IT manager to buy universal docking stations that work with all laptops in my installed base is a piece of cake. That makes my life easier, cuts my cost and makes me much more productive. At the home level, that is an opportunity.

Talk about the feedback you are getting since coming on board.

So for me it is three buckets: One, talk to me about your product proposition; two, talk to me about your go-to-market strategy; three, talk to me about your business proposition and how you are as a company to do business with.

From a product perspective, we continue to win awards. We won awards at CES. We got an innovation award. We continue to surprise the industry. The creativity of the design teams and the product teams is recognized by independent, third-party credible sources. That is good news. We need to continue to be creative.

Second, how we go to market. Kensington needs to be more aggressive in terms of its entire product portfolio. We have got to balance channel contribution to our top line. But if you break it down to the product-segment level, some channels dominate more than others and, given certain segments, that is to be expected. But there is opportunity there.

Lastly, we are listening to what it is going to take in terms of modification to our business proposition to help people take advantage of some of the growth opportunities that exist and to capitalize on some of the new emerging trends relative to the attach and accessorizing that goes on.

What is the biggest surprise since coming on board at Kensington?

The thing that surprised me the most is the lack of channel conflict that exists in this marketplace. You have got new channels and new segments that are developing that you just wouldn't expect. Who would figure that Radio Shack would do well with Netbooks? Why are they doing well? Why do people go to Radio Shack? They are going to Radio Shack and traditional channels to help with that TV conversion. Old traditional channel partners have taken an opportunity with this new trend.

What do you think of the overall business climate and how should channel partners respond?

It is extraordinary in terms of the things that are happening. The one thing I am telling my team is: Let's not buy into the fear factor. Let's go out and be aggressive in those places that make sense. I am not saying be reckless. That is foolish. There is plenty of growth that is out there. We have partners growing 20, 30 and 40 percent in certain categories. Let's make sure we support them and are aggressive in providing them the tools to get the job done and meet their business goals. If we help our partners achieve their goals, we are going to achieve our goals.