Toshiba Creates Subsidiary to Buy Dealerships : Electronics: Acquisitions by Topac USA Inc. will guarantee distribution of the firm’s copiers and fax machines.

Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. said Wednesday that it has started a new unit to buy copier and facsimile machine dealerships across the nation.

The creation of Topac USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba, comes as large numbers of independently owned copier and fax dealers are being bought up by large regional retail distributors such as Danka Business Systems in Florida and Alco Standard Corp. in Pennsylvania, analysts said.

As a result, manufacturers like Toshiba are concerned about major distributors shutting them out of the channels by favoring only certain brands. Owning dealerships directly is one solution for them, said Pete Davidson, a market researcher and newsletter publisher based in Burbank.

Already, the Topac subsidiary has acquired an independent Atlanta dealer, Omni Business Products Inc. Omni has been the largest Toshiba dealer in the Atlanta area for more than six years.

“This is the first of several acquisitions that we intend to make to strengthen our distribution of office automation equipment,” Atsutoshi Nishida, Toshiba America’s president, said in a statement.

The division will be headed by Dennis Eversole, who will continue to hold his current position as senior vice president of Toshiba America.

Davidson characterized Irvine-based Toshiba America as a “second-tier” maker of fax and copy machines, trailing such brands as Panasonic, Sharp and Canon in market share. Because of that, he said, Toshiba must take extra steps to ensure that retailers are carrying its equipment.

“It’s reaching a point where they cannot count on independent dealers” because of the consolidation in the industry, Davidson said.

Toshiba America, a subsidiary of Japanese technology giant Toshiba Corp., has annual sales of about $2 billion.

Toshiba’s New Venture

To make sure that its copiers and fax machines are available in retail stores, Toshiba America Information Systems has established a subsidiary that will buy office equipment dealerships. The new unit at a glance:

Name: Topac USA Inc.

Headquarters: Irvine

Parent company: Toshiba America Information Systems Inc.

Chief executive officer: Dennis Eversole

Employees: 50

Objective: To buy retail dealerships that will sell Toshiba products