Munich-based value added distributor posts sales growth +++ Drivers were the product areas of digital signage, tablets and healthcare
Munich, March 24, 2023 – Munich-based value-added distributor Concept International has posted an increase in sales of almost 50 percent for its 2022 financial year. The main drivers were the digital signage business units with 30 percent, tablets with 25 percent and healthcare with 55 percent growth – the remaining growth was generated by the new LED walls unit. Concept sees the greatest growth opportunities for 2023 in the LED wall area and through the expansion into Spain, which will also serve the markets in Spain, Portugal and South America with immediate effect.
In the digital signage product area, business was driven primarily by the DigitalPakt Schule and the modernization of conference rooms in the enterprise sector. After initial hurdles due to the high level of bureaucracy for schools in the application process, 2022 recorded high demand for mini PCs from Giada, which are used in digital whiteboards to facilitate the digitization of teaching material. In addition, the shift toward more remote work also drove the digitization of flexible workplace structures. For example, equipping conference rooms with whiteboards supports hybrid meetings in which employees can collaborate from different locations.
Sales in the tablets and healthcare product areas were boosted in particular by digitization efforts in hospitals. After a modernization backlog due to the pandemic, a boom in the implementation of digitization projects was evident here in 2022. The all-in-one PCs and medically certified rugged tablets from DT Research sold by Concept for use on ward trolleys and ward round trolleys enable the digital recording of patient data directly at the bedside. Technological advances in mobile ultrasound examinations, in particular, have given a huge boost to the demand for medical tablets. Physicians are increasingly using mobile tablets with special software and connected ultrasound probes instead of bulky stationary ultrasound carts.
Outlook for 2023 – success story of LED walls continues
“Added to this is our still fairly young LED walls business,” Finckh continues. “Here we expect at least a doubling of sales, as our special concept of cooperation with our system integrators is being enthusiastically accepted.”
Concept has already been able to implement numerous projects with the LED walls from the manufacturers Ledman as well as FutureLED in the first quarter of 2023, such as for the industrial design area at the Technical University of Munich. At the TU, students can now display their designs of a passenger car as 3D animations in real size. Other implemented projects can be found primarily in company headquarters, for example for representative entrance areas and in large conference rooms.
Expansion to Spain with ambitious goals
In addition, Concept International has expanded its business to Spain at the end of 2022: “We see great potential here, as it is a market with a population of 52 million. According to the latest reports from the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), the digital signage sector is forecast to grow by 9.1 percent by 2023, and we want to be part of that,” says Mike Finckh, explaining the market entry. “Due to an already large demand in a short period of time, we expect an exponential increase in growth in the regions of Spain, Portugal and South America.”
To ensure a successful launch in the market, Pablo Entrena has been appointed Head of Business Development in Spain. Entrena has extensive experience in the industry and has worked with Concept International for five years.
“We are very excited about expanding our operations in Spain,” says Pablo Entrena, Business Development Manager at Concept. “I see an exciting future for the company in this region for several reasons. The digital signage and medical sectors will see significant growth in the coming years.”
Entrena adds, “The fact that the ISE show has moved to the Spanish market has also made Spain a promising region for Concept. We want to be a new player and our goal is to attract at least ten system integrators who are ready to grow massively through our partnership. Concept has achieved an average annual growth of more than 25 percent in Germany over the last 15 years. We plan to do the same in Spain.”