Tech Data to enter mobile distribution market through new joint venture

The new company will distribute mobile phones and other wireless devices across Europe

By Laura Hailstone

01 Feb 2007

Be the first to comment

  • Digg
  • Tweet

Tech Data announced today that it has established a joint venture with wireless distributor Brightstar to capitalize on the evolving mobile and wireless device market.

Called Brightstar Europe, the new company will distribute mobile phones and other wireless devices to mobile operators, dealers, agents, retailers and e-tailers throughout Europe.

Both Tech Data, parent company of Computer 2000 (C2000) in the UK and Brightstar will have a 50 per cent joint ownership of Brightstar Europe.

"This is a part of the market that we haven't addressed yet and it's growing massively," Andy Gass, managing director UK at C2000, the UK arm of Tech Data, told CRN. "Rather than us learning form scratch we decided to partner with one of the biggest distributors in that market. We bring them a European focus, and they bring us a raft of vendor relationships."

Brightstar Europe will be headquartered in the UK with access to 10 logistics centers and 16 sales offices across Europe. The company is expected to commence operations in March pending regulatory and other required approvals.

Robert Dutkowsky, chief executive of Tech Data, said: “As the mobile device industry continues to expand, Brightstar Europe will serve as a critical supply chain partner, enabling manufacturers and operators to reduce costs, improve delivery times and invest more in next generation technologies. We are excited about this opportunity to diversify our distribution services and we look forward to Brightstar Europe’s advancement in the market.”

R. Marcelo Claure, president, chief executive and chairman of Brightstar, added: “The European mobile device market is highly fragmented in terms of supply chain and distribution services. We believe that Brightstar Europe will transform service levels provided to operators, retailers and manufacturers, significantly reducing operating costs and improving mobile device delivery throughout the region."

Further reading:

Tech Data sees profit slump

display:none
Loading
We won't publish your address
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms & Conditions

Your comment will be moderated before publication.

Will Apple's attitude to the channel change in 2012?

51%

21%

27%

1%

CRN Partner Connect 2012

CRN Partner Connect logo

CRN's premier networking event is back on 17 May at the Ricoh Arena

Date: Thu 17 May 2012

CRN Fight Night 2012

One of the fights from CRN Fight Night 2010

Channel fighters preparing to square up once more on 24 May

Date: Thu 24 May 2012

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Submit your email address and we'll send a link to a personal newsletter control panel

fragment image

The mobile enterprise: Secure the data, not the device

The proliferation of endpoint devices within the enterprise has highlighted the shortcomings of one of the traditional approaches to data security

fragment image

Measuring the ROI of Google Apps

This Forrester report compares the costs and benefits of legacy email and productivity software with Google Apps


Dave the dealer blog

Dave the dealer

Clocking off

Dave discovers that rozzers are seemingly living in the technology dark ages

View from the channel

Views from the Channel

Departing CEO has done Dixons a service

Mark Needham, founder of distributor Widget, argues that John Browett leaves for Apple with Dixons in better shape than when he arrived

To send to more than one email address, simply separate each address with a comma.