Econocom has launched a €250m-revenue audiovisual arm, Gather, which is prioritising “fast growth” in the UK and Germany.
Unveiled today, Gather currently operates in Benelux, France, Spain and Italy, with a “very small setup” in the UK via its Trams-Econocom business.
The meeting room and digital signage-focused business will be spearheaded by Jean Pierre Overbeek, who previously headed up BIS, a Dutch AV integrator Econocom acquired in 2017.
Key vendors include Samsung, Sharp/NEC, Philips, LG, SONY, Cisco, Microsoft, Yealink, Barco, Extron and Crestron.
“There is no clear leadership; we find that odd”
Talking to IT Channel Oxygen, Overbeek characterised the European AV market as “fragmented”, asserting that few players are able to provide cross-border AV solutions in the region.
“What we have seen is that even some AV companies from the US are entering Europe, because there is no clear market leadership in Europe. We find that odd, and we want to take benefit of that situation,” Overbeek said.
Growing in AV will play an integral role in Econocom’s new five-year plan designed to boost reveneus from €2.8bn to €4bn. It will see the firm begin a “new chapter in the history of Econocom, with a resolutely growth-oriented ambition”, according to Econocom Chairman and CEO Jean-Louis Bouchard (pictured below).
The ambition is to gain AV coverage of all the major European countries by “growing fast” in the UK and Germany, Overbeek explained, adding that its expansion plans will encompass organic and inorganic means.
“It’s a buy-and-build strategy, so we do both,” he said.
“We will not be impatient. We will search for the right partners which fit our DNA, and that can be through partnership through the PSNI, but it can also be with the acquisition of companies in several European countries.”
‘AV is known for its transactional characteristic, which is ridiculous’
According to the press release, Gather has a “strong commitment to sustainability”.
What does this mean?
Firstly, Gather – as well as the wider Econocom business – counts as-a-service as its default strategy, Overbeek responded.
“The AV business is known for its transactional characteristic. We do a large project, then we do some services, but we basically run away. That’s the way the AV industry has been built over the last 40 years, which is ridiculous,” he said.
“We maintain ownership, which means the footprint is lower because we do the lifecycle management.”
Secondly, Econocom counts refurbished IT as a strategic initiative after acquiring several companies specialised in reducing e-waste, Overbeek added.
“We want to have a completely different approach from the rest of the industry,” he explained.
AV has a ‘different DNA’ from IT
Despite some convergence, IT solutions providers have historically found it tough to crack the adjacent AV sector due to its distinct, engineering-heavy business model.
Econocom has a major advantage due to the specialist AV knowledge it holds across the group, Overbeek explained, however.
BIS has grown revenues from €40m-€45m to €100m under Econocom’s tutelage, with the various AV businesses dotted across the group that will come under the Gather banner turning over €250m in total, he said.
“Although the IT guys are playing a role in this industry, the bigger AV companies are leading it, and we foresee that gap growing instead of declining,” Overbeek said.
“When you look at the short lifecycle of the products, the knowledge you need on the commercial side and also on the installation and services side, it’s definitely a different DNA.
“That’s one of the reasons we foresee a big opportunity for Econocom. We have those services in place. We just need to make sure we can do it cross border, with the right people, and provide them with the same skillsets that we have in four or five different entities in different countries.”
Overbeek concluded: “We are very strong in the meeting room area, but also digital signage in retail, where we have hundreds if not thousands of customers. We want to support them in the coming years with new technologies and AI and everything that will happen in our industry.”
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
