‘We’re confident about the short-, medium-, and long-term future’: Econocom on €400m inorganic growth

Jean-Pierre Overbeek and Israel Garcia speak on the VAR’s AV vision, M&A strategy, and changing channel relationships

Econocom has recently made waves across the IT channel and on both sides of the English Channel, with AV acquisitions across Europe, notably in Germany, Spain, and more recently the UK and Ireland.

These buyouts have allowed the VAR to boost its AV activities in Germany and Ireland, where it had no presence in the sector, as well as in the UK, where it hardly had any.

“Now, we have a footprint in all of those countries,” Jean-Pierre Overbeek, country manager of Econocom Netherlands, tells CRN.

In other territories, such as the Netherlands, the reseller has already achieved “a dominant position” in the AV sector.

In 2017, Econocom acquired Bedrijfs Informatie Systemen (BIS) the AV, video, and ICTR branch of Mood Media, for $20.2m ($26.49m adjusted to inflation.)

Overbeek, who was at the time CEO of BIS and MD of Mood Media Benelux, became CEO of BIS and co-CEO of Econocom Netherlands.

“We’ve grown rapidly under the Econocom umbrella.

“We generate close to €120m (£103.57m) in revenue in the Netherlands alone, which is quite large for a relatively small country.

“If we can replicate that success in other markets, we’re confident we’ll reach our goal of €500m in revenue within two or three years.”

The next step for the VAR is now to build on the foundation it has laid with these investments, explains the Netherlands chief.

“We’ll integrate the new companies, help them grow, and aim for organic growth.

“In the first half of 2026, we’ll evaluate the next steps.”

The recent buyouts have also reportedly enhanced the firm’s vertical capabilities.

ICT in Germany will allow Econocom to focus on high-end rental studios and broadcast facilities.

In the UK, Smartcomm brings smart office solutions.

Avanzia in Spain is involved in museums and entertainment.

Israel Garcia, Econocom’s UK MD, who previously called the UK the company’s "rising star", tells CRN that the acquisitions of Smartcomm and ISS AV bring 55 new people to the reseller’s AV sector in the UKI.

The sector already represents €300m across the company’s territories.

Beyond AV, the organisation also focuses on three more business lines in the country.

The first one is finance, through Econocom’s leasing business.

The second and third ones are workplace and infrastructure, which the company got involved in through the buyout of Trams in 2021.

As part of One Econocom, the VAR’s plan to achieve €4bn in revenue by 2028, it also intends to generate over €400m in inorganic growth.

To achieve the goals set out in 2024 and fuel its swath of investments, it created “a solid funding strategy,” explains Garcia.

It started by divesting its non-core assets, with for example the sale of 100 per cent of Les Abeilles, a maritime rescue services company, to Spanish towage and shipping group Boluda in June 2024.

“We plan to follow a similar approach going forward,” he adds.

Econocom has also completed a Schuldschein (a German private placement), where it raised €225m, way beyond the €100m it first expected, “due to strong investor confidence.”

“With the AV acquisitions we’ve done, plus [the acquisition of refurbishing company bb-net] in Q1 in Germany, we’re ahead of our plans in AV,” says Overbeek.

Onboarding and integration

When it comes to integration strategy, Garcia refers to his own experience, as his company, Altabox, was acquired by Econocom in 2018.

“I’m still here seven years later.”

He explains that the management team is always onboarded and usually stays for a minimum of four or five years.

The purchased firms are rebranded under the Econocom name, which reportedly gives them access to better financing, cross-border projects, and bigger opportunities.

“It also helps standardise offerings and strengthen our presence across Europe,” the UK MD adds.

Overbeek says that Econocom aims to preserve the new organisations’ entrepreneurial spirit.

“They know their markets and industries best. We don’t dictate from day one.

“Large clients often want to work with large providers, and our scale gives them confidence.”

In the case of Econocom’s biggest UK buy, Trams, the company took three years to bring the business under the One Econocom umbrella, after first acquiring it in 2021.

The reseller employs 750 AV specialists across Europe, according to the Netherlands country manager, who adds that “it’s not about numbers; what matters is to have the right people.”

This gives the French Belgian VAR the ability to deliver “small, medium, and even massive projects, thanks to both quality and quantity.”

Evolving partner relationships

Because of its recent expansion and 2028 plan, the company is also working with new channel partners.

“We’re focused on training and alignment,” says Overbeek.

“First, we’re building training programmes with internal black belt champions across countries.

“These are shared internally and externally to elevate knowledge, especially in AV.

“Second, we’re aligning with manufacturers and partners to standardise certifications and quality across countries.

“We don’t want to work with 800 different vendors, we’re not a supermarket, we want strategic partners that help us provide the best user experience.

“That includes pricing, portfolio alignment, and other fundamentals.

“When you acquire companies, you inherit their ecosystems, so you need to consolidate and realign over time.”

While Garcia explains that the business has most areas covered in terms of AV with strong existing vendor relationships, it is actively scouting “new and disruptive players” in application intelligence, such as companies offering innovative software or hardware to take Econocom “beyond traditional AV.”

Looking into the future: Sustainability and power fluctuations

The reseller’s AV ambitions are also backed by its sustainability strategy, as “Econocom started 50 years ago as a hardware reseller, sustainability is part of [its] DNA, not a trend [it is] jumping on,” says the Netherlands MD.

The main issue with AV now is its lifecycle, as the technology usually needs an update within three years, and often a replacement within five years, he explains.

“With AV-as-a-service, we want to plan second and third lives for hardware; if we can standardise fleets, we can manage lifecycle and reduce waste.

“This allows us to offer creative financing too, because AV retains residual value, and it can be reused in education or in countries with different tech maturity levels.

“Large enterprises now legally need to report their IT footprint, and we help them with data and insights. Not just in AV, but IT too.”

While the company is aware of the current global challenges, it has weathered many cycles during its launch in 1974, says Garcia.

“ Economically, things fluctuate, but we stay focused.

“We believe Europe is becoming more unified in response to global instability, which plays to our strengths.

“Europe is becoming a stronger block, and we want to be the European AV and IT leader.”

Despite these fluctuations, Overbeek tells CRN that Econocom is on track, both financially and in terms of sustainability.

“We’re confident about the short-, medium-, and long-term future.”