HP has junked Netfire, the UK franchise operator for its Office Centre dealer programme. It has bought out the remainder of the franchisor’s term for an unspecified amount.. And it will now deal directly with the 65 Office Centre resellers based in the UK. HP said it is making the move in response to a dealer survey, which “indicated that the best way forward would be to create a direct working relationship with HP and its management”. The vendor is to review brand promotion, account management, merchandising and the fee payment structure. Netfire was formed two years ago specifically to build a branded channel for the SME market. Apparently, it’s very successful, with dealer members “significantly outperforming the market”. Success has not prevented a procession of reseller whinges catalogued in PC Dealer and Microscope, the UK channel newspapers. Netfire MD Alan Furniss (a former HP bigwig) will no doubt be contemplating his future. As now he only has a shell to run. ®