EET on acquisition trail as spares market soars

Distributor makes first acquisition after six months in UK market and hints at more

Growing demand: Customers want to be able to go to one place to cover all spare part needs.

Growing calls for spare parts distributors to stock a wider range of brands has prompted newcomer EET Nordic to make an acquisition just six months after touching down in the UK.

EET has acquired Middlesex-based Romtronics, which carries Samsung, NEC and Packard Bell parts. EET’s UK director Frederik Andersen told CRN that it was “not unlikely” his company would announce further acquisitions in the coming months.

EET’s first UK acquisition comes after Acal acquired Computer Parts International and grouped it with EAF to form Acal Parts Services last year. Spare parts distributor Chiltern IT Services also announced its intentions to acquire in December.

“This is a good acquisition. It will strengthen our position because we will be exposed to more customers,” Andersen said.
“People’s time is a scarce resource and they want to go to one place. It is important to have a facility where you can buy many brands ­ it is difficult to survive on only one.”

Andersen claimed that the fact his company serves the entire European market through one stock warehouse in Denmark presented no problem for UK customers. He said: “By having one warehouse we can stock a broader range of products. We are the number one spare parts distributor in Italy, Spain, Denmark, Norway and Sweden so this indicates that our structure works.”

Rob Embers, director of spares supplier Spares4IT, said: “We try to have as comprehensive an offering as possible. Suppliers that have more brand offerings are going to be more successful.”

Romtronics joint managing director Adrian Mutti said: “It is not sufficient just to deliver an out-
standing customer service. You need a one-stop shop where customers get access to all kind of parts.”