The international IT distributor ELKO Group has completed the deal to buy 100% of shares of Absolut Trading Company (Торговый дом «Абсолют»), a leading Russian distributor of household appliances and electronics.

This acquisition agreement between the companies will expand the reach to the clients, offering them access not only to IT products, but also to household appliances and electronics.

Both the companies see their cooperation as an opportunity to improve their competitiveness and professional expertise. The companies' experts expect an increase in the overall potential revenue on the Russian market. This merger will make it possible to optimise costs, opening up new opportunities for the companies themselves, and for their partners.

"The acquisition of Absolut by ELKO Group will enable us to provide our clients with better service and a broader range of products. In addition to its professional team that has immense experience, we got loyal clients and vendors who would be a dream to work with for any distributor," the CEO of ELKO Group, Svens Dinsdorfs said.

In Russia, the unified entity will be managed by Oleg Gusakov who worked for almost 20 years for Absolut Trading Company, making his career from a Purchasing Manager to a Managing Director. The presence of former employees of Absolut in the management of the company will make its integration as smooth and speedy as possible. Aleksandr Alekseyev, the Chief Commercial Officer at ELKO Russia, will take the lead in the commercial activities of the united team.

Taking into account the latest market development trends (IoT, smart home solutions, disappearance of boundaries between household appliances and IT equipment), ELKO Group and Absolut plan to make a precedent of establishing such a partnership that will not only be noticed on the market, but will also offer their clients to consolidate their purchases and reduce costs.

"The acquisition of Absolut will change our business in Russia," the President and shareholder of ELKO Group Egons Mednis said, "In recent years we largely expanded our operations in Europe. Within just the last few years, we bought Apple Premium Service shops in the Czech Republic, service centres in Slovakia, a distributor in Sweden Gandalf Distribution  and started developing our business in Poland. However, this does not mean that we were not active in Russia. Over the recent years, we signed a number of very beneficial contracts, which helped us to grow our business in Russia, despite the overall decline in this market. The acquisition of Absolute Trading Company will make a breakthrough possible for us. Now, we can offer our clients everything: from servers and laptops, to fridges and electric kettles."

Both the companies have a great market experience. They are well known in Russia and cooperate with more than 3,000 partners.

About ELKO

ELKO Group is one of the largest distributors on the market, representing 210 IT manufacturers and offering a broad range of products, solutions and services to more than 7,700 partners in 31 countries in Europe and Central Asia.

The company was founded in Riga, in 1993. ELKO Group works with the world's leading IT manufacturers. These include: Microsoft, AMD, Intel, Apple, HP, Acer, Huawei, Samsung and others. In 2017, the overall revenue of the company exceeded 1.5 billion US dollars.

The branch in Russia was established in 1995. There are 3 offices in Russia:  Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Krasnoyarsk and   warehouses in Moscow and Saint- Petersburg. The well-organised logistical network of the company is propped up by its four transfer hubs: Helsinki, Dubai, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The company currently employs more than 700 people.

Our partners include major players on the Russian market. These are national and regional retail chains: M.Video, Eldorado, DNS, Svyaznoy, Yevroset, Mediamarket, Technopark, RBT, Key and others. These also include major Russian computer and server integrators and assemblers: Akvariaus, Depo, Ramek, etc., including thousands of resellers all over the country.  

About Absolut Trading Company

Absolut Trading Company was founded in 1990, becoming one of the first wholesale dealers of household appliances in Russia. Over time, the scope of its deliveries extended throughout Russia, and the company took the 191^st position in Russia's Top 200 Biggest Private Companies list by Forbes. The product portfolio of the company includes household equipment of LG, Samsung, Sony, Bosch, Electrolux, Philips, Ariston and 319 other manufacturers from all over the world.

The company has its own round-the-clock 32,000 m² class A warehouse, and a fleet of trucks of different capacity classes. Absolut has more than 1,000 regular clients, including major national retail chains.

For further information:

www.elko.ru

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ELKO.Russia

Twitter: @ELKO_Group