Distributor PCRange goes under

Adelaide-based networking distributor PCRange has entered into voluntary liquidation after being in business for the past 16 years.

PCRange founder and chief executive Raaj Menon told CRN the main reason the company had gone under was due to the rise of the US dollar and the lack of new products from its main vendor, Taiwanese router manufacturer Billion.

“There is no hiding the fact that sales started plummeting from the middle of last year and it was a natural course of action to let go of a few people including Quentin [Smith, PCRange’s network support manager] to cut expenses but we were still confident of pulling through,” said Menon.

But come New Year, Tarquin Raoul Koch of Anthony Matthews & Associates was appointed as liquidator on 8 January.

The liquidation includes a number of PCRange subsidiaries, including telco provider SipTalk and iPhone accessory seller PADACS.

Menon would not discuss the company’s debts but he did say that all former staff had been paid out.

He added that PCRange's South Australian office has closed, and that he expected another distributor to take over the accounts for primary vendors Billion and AVM, the German manufacturer of FritzBox home networking gear.

Tarquin Raoul Koch, Matthews & Associates liquidator, told CRN: “We are looking at selling PCRange’s customer’s list within the next four to six weeks.”

Koch said he was still finalising the details on PCRange’s debts and said such information would be ready by the next creditors meeting in a fortnight’s time.

“This will not be a quick process as there are overseas creditors involved, so it will take a bit of time,” added Koch.

Menon, a Malaysian-born IT entrepreneur, started PCRange by selling routers from his home in year 2000. Last year, it was reported that the company made an annual turnover of about $10 million.

PCRange is not the only Australian distributor to have failed recently, with Altech also recently entering administration with millions of dollars of debts.