The Apple gravy train has finally drawn to a close for New Zealand IT products distributor Renaissance with an announcement on 29 January that Apple resellers will now be able to source product directly from Apple Inc.Up until December 2006, Renaissance was the only distributor in New Zealand of Apple products. That monopoly position ended when Apple launched its online store and iTunes Store for local consumers. The move immediately saw the price of Apple products in New Zealand fall into line with the rest of the world as retailers were forced to compete with Apple’s global pricing policy reflected in online sales.As of today, mass merchants will also be able to source product directly from Apple Inc, effectively cutting Renaissance out of the equation if they wish.In a statement, Renaissance said that this will “bring the New Zealand distribution structure for Apple product broadly in line with those prevailing in Australia and other countries”. This will likely result in a fall in sales volumes and profits for the company, it admitted.The change has not come as a surprise to Renaissance, which has for some time been diversifying its product range into security products among others and gaining greater control over the Apple market here. In 2007, Renaissance purchased retailers MagnumMac and Natcoll, giving it an end-to-end Apple presence in the market.For full story visit www.m-net.net.nz