Eclipse Wholesale, a telecommunications wholesaler based in Gateshead, is gearing up to celebrate a significant milestone as they reach their 20th year in business this September. The anniversary reflects the company's resilience and determination that has allowed them to consistently grow over the past two decades.
Established in 2004 by Managing Director, James Drake, Eclipse was founded with a clear mission: to liberate underperforming resellers from counter-productive suppliers and elevate their service. Eclipse took on this challenge and over the years has evolved, adapted and overcome many obstacles.
Their dedication to serving the channel led Eclipse to shift their strategy to a channelfirst approach, meaning only catering to resellers and dealers within the channel.
At the forefront of this strategy is their fully equipped partner programme, designed to onboard channel partners on flexible models and enhance their portfolios with Eclipse’s key five services. This strategic shift has generated incredible success, positioning Eclipse Wholesale as a key player within the channel and allowing them to grow their base significantly year on year. Building on this, the company’s latest vision is to become the leading wholesaler for small to mediumsized channel partners across the UK.
What has set Eclipse apart over the last 20 years is not just their products and services but their commitment to providing unmatched support to their partners every step of the way. From their experienced customer service and sales teams to their comprehensive marketing resources and billing processes, Eclipse ensures that their partners have all the tools they need to thrive within the channel. The addition of their Eclipse Self-Service portal, which was introduced in 2019, has significantly enhanced the partner experience by streamlining processes and allowing partners the freedom to place, track and run diagnostics on their orders from any location and device at any time. The portal has proved to be successful with over 90% of their resellers now active on it. Earlier this year, the team launched the Eclipse Wholesale Marketing Hub, which gives their partners access to a full suite of marketing resources to help boost their campaigns.
In 2023, Eclipse took on a new challenge with their expansion to Scotland, where they were presented with an opportunity to launch CityFibre Business FTTP to resellers across the region. The launch, held in Edinburgh, was a great success with over 70% of the guests onboarding as partners. This marked the beginning of a promising new chapter for Eclipse Wholesale allowing them to not only create meaningful partnerships and grow their Scottish footprint but to also introduce a Channel Partner Sales Manager for Scotland to the team.
James Drake says “I’m delighted that during 2024 we have a year of planned events to celebrate and reflect upon Eclipse Wholesale’s 20th Work Anniversary, culminating at the end of the year with an evening spent with friends, family, customers and suppliers. The last 20 years have simply flown by as there has always been the next project or milestone to achieve. As the company has grown, so have our ambitions and focusing on these is what continues to drive us forward.”
As Eclipse looks forward to celebrating their two decades in business, they continue to strive as a leading player in the channel providing the best services possible with high-quality processes in place. Their milestone celebration promises to be a joyous occasion, scheduled to take place at a Newcastle venue in September. The event will serve as the perfect opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of past and present staff, partners, suppliers and close friends who have played a key role in Eclipse’s incredible journey.