Meet Germany's top 30 IT distributors
Ingram, ALSO and Tech Data dominate but there's no shortage of local heroes in the German distribution market, according to our sister title Channelnomics
Did you know that seven cents in every euro spent on ICT in Germany travels through just three giant IT distributors?
That's one of the more surprising findings of research into the top 30 ICT distributors in Germany which has been carried out by our sister publication, Channelnomics.eu. You can read Part One of the report in full here.
Undoubtedly one of the German channel's most striking quirks is the extent to which it is bossed by a trio of distribution goliaths in the form of Ingram Micro, Tech Data and ALSO, who boast combined estimated sales of nearly €11bn.
Amanuel Dag, DACH country manager at analyst Context, said the power wielded by this triumvirate is closely linked to the market's highly price-sensitive nature.
"The market is more consolidated here in Germany and therefore it's more price competitive than other countries," said Dag.
"There's not much profit to make. The margins are always lower than one per cent for box-moving business around PCs, tablet and laptops; it's not a big secret that telecoms distributors are making more on laptop bags than the mobile PCs themselves. The saying ‘get big, get niche or get out' counts a lot for distribution in Germany - either they are big enough to survive or they find a niche with a higher margin."
But it is perhaps precisely because Swiss ALSO and US broadline duo Tech Data and Ingram dominate so heavily that there exists below them a formidable pack of quirky home-grown heroes that have carved out a niche outside of box-shifting.
Channelnomics.eu began its Focus in Germany season by counting down the country's top 50 resellers - or 'system houses'. You can read Part One here, Part Two here, Part Three here, Part Four here and Part Five here.
Now it's the turn of the distributors, as Channelnomics examines the country's top 30 IT wholesalers by revenue. Part One counts down numbers 20 to 21. Stay tuned for Parts Two and Three, which will review 20 to 11, and 10 to one, respectively.
So here we go...
30) Wick Hill Kommunikationstechnik GmbH - €47m
UK-based Wick Hill is one of Germany's leading security VADs, with local revenues in its fiscal 2014 of €46.7m, up 34 per cent on the previous year. Headquartered in Hamburg (pictured) and with 56 staff, Wick Hill Kommunikationstechnik GmbH counts WatchGuard, Kaspersky and Fortinet among its key vendors.
29) DELO Computer GmbH - €56m
Peripherals specialist DELO saw sales dip by four per cent in 2013 to €56.4m, according to its most recent accounts. Founded in 1987, the Recklinghausen-based outfit counts Toshiba, Viewsonic, LG, APC, D-Link and Samsung among its key vendors and claims to serve more than 6,000 dealers and resellers. In 2013, it employed an average of 61 staff.
28) Littlebit Technology Deutschland AG - €57m
Storage specialist Littlebit Technology Deutschland AG saw turnover rise by 15 per cent to €56.7m in its 2013 financial year, according to its most-recent accounts. A Western Digital and Kingston partner, the Hessen-based outfit, which is Swiss-owned, specialises in the wholesale of hard disk drives, external hard drives, NAS devices, memory modules and BTO solutions and related accessories.
27) ALLNET GmbH Computersysteme - €58m
Headquartered in Germering near Munich, ALLNET is a networking, surveillance and storage distributor that sells both to VARs and the IT departments of SMEs and end users. Revenues hit €58.3m in 2013, according to its most-recent accounts.
26) Action Europe GmbH - €60m (est)
Polish distributor Action became a significant force in neighbouring Germany a year ago when it completed its acquisition of bankrupt Braunschweiger-based broadliner Devil AG. Having now been rebranded under the Action Europe GmbH banner, the business prides itself on speed to market, promising pre-noon next-day delivery for customers who order before 6.30pm. Action is not the only Polish-based distributor that's had a crack at the German market, with rival ABC Data establishing a local sales office in January 2014 only to close it this year, according to reports. Local accounts show Action Europe GmbH turned over €28m in the last six months of 2013.
25) Exclusive Networks Deutschland GmbH - €63.3m
Pan-European player Exclusive Networks is one of Germany's top security VADs, with local revenues of €63.3m in the 12 months to 31 December 2013, according to its most-recent accounts. France-headquartered Exclusive, which now operates in 13 regions, owes its German presence to its 2012 acquisition of local VAD TLK. With about 80 staff and offices in Münster, München und Berlin (pictured), Exclusive Networks Deutschland GmbH counts Palo Alto, FireEye, Sophos, F5 Networks and Fortinet among its key vendors.
24) Fröhlich + Walter GmbH - €70m (est)
This networking specialist did not appear to report revenues in its most-recent accounts but is no minnow, with over 60 staff and gross profits of €4.94m, pointing to a turnover of in the region of €70m based on the gross profit-to-revenue ratio of its peers. Founded in 1977, Fröhlich + Walter claims to service 30,000 dealers across Europe.
23) Infinigate Deutschland GmbH - €128m
Switzerland-headquartered Infinigate is one of the largest security VADs in Germany, with local revenue hitting €127.9m in its fiscal 2014, up a whopping 35 per cent year on year, according to its most-recent accounts. Its local arm, which has 95 staff, counts Dell SonicWall, Intel Security, Aruba, Ruckus and SafeNet among its main vendors. Germany is the largest subsidiary of Infinigate, which operates in eight countries and claims to cover 70 per cent of the potential IT security market in western Europe.
22) Michael Telecom AG - €130m (est)
We could not verify a revenue figure for Michael Telecom, but the fact it reported gross profits last year of €8m and has 100 employees leads us to estimate a turnover somewhere in the ballpark of €130m. The publicly listed firm, which claims to serve 6,200 dealers, bills itself as a wholesaler of electronic devices including accessories and software, with a focus on comms and "innovative technology". Starting off life as a supplier of telex roll paper and answering machines, Bohmte-based Michael Telecom was founded by Siegried Michael in 1984 as a way to earn "a few marks" to go on holiday to Denmark with his wife and three children.
21) Bytec Bodry Technology GmbH - €142m
Based on the shores of the picturesque Lake Constance in southern Germany, IBM software distributor Bytec Bodry boasts 70 staff and a turnover of €160m, according to CRN Germany (the last accounts we tracked down show a turnover of €142m in 2012). Claiming to serve 3,000 resellers, the VAD offers the full range of IBM software, including Lotus, Tivoli, WebSphere and DB2, as well as Linux and Unix servers, hardware from Kemp and storage gear from Datacore. As evidenced by its penguin-themed '25 years in Rock ‘n' Roll in the IT market' strapline on its website, Friedrichshafen-based Bytec Bodry is also one of Germany's longest-standing VADs.