ALLIANCE MARINE acquires leading Swedish distributor COMSTEDT AB.
07 Fevrier 2022
ALLIANCE MARINE acquires leading Swedish distributor COMSTEDT AB.
New opportunities and a wider Scandinavian reach for Alliance Marine
Alliance Marine Group gains significant ground in Northern Europe by acquiring JAN COMSTEDT AB (known as COMSTEDT). Headquartered near Göteborg (Sweden), the company is a well established B2B distributor targeting the leisure boating and sportfishing market segments.
International expansion is the cornerstone of Alliance Marine’s strategy both through organic and acquisitive growth. Taking over COMSTEDT, a key player representing all best-in-class technical brands, opens new opportunities and wider geographic reach for the Group.
A strong technical expertise in both recreational boating and sportfishing markets
Building on more than 30 years’ experience in the marine industry, Jan Comstedt created the company in 1983 and grew at a fast pace with the support of prestigious equipment brands. Right from the start, the company stood out as a highly technical distributor, delivering professional support to OEM’s, ship chandlers, sportfishing stores and technical installers. Best proof of COMSTEDT’s expertise and excellent service to the trade, is the sustainable ambassadorship of such premium brands as Humminbird, Minn Kota, Cannon, Lewmar, Jabsco, Rule, Dometic…
Current structure and team will remain unchanged. Management includes Mats Comstedt (CEO), Anna Comstedt Hedröd (CFO) and Magnus von Barth (Sales Manager) with a team of 21 employees in Sweden.
Comstedt and Alliance Marine : a strong alignment in culture
CEO Mats Comstedt comments: “We immediately felt a strong alignment in culture with Alliance Marine managers and the Comstedt team is very excited to accelerate the deployment of our 2022 growth plan.
Teaming up with Alliance Marine makes us stronger financially, which will help us to explore more market segments and expand quicker in Scandinavia. We just opened our own branch in Finland and Norway with 6 extra staff members and look forward to further expansion in 2022. Stretching our activity all over Scandinavia matches perfectly with Alliance Marine’s international growth ambitions”.
Comstedt and Alliance Marine Group also share the same vision of growth through respectful and fair distribution agreements. Alliance Marine CEO Jean-Paul Roche explains : « There may be some opportunities for distribution in new territories, which will potentially happen after due discussion with the brands who will candidate to grow with us. Our main objective is to bring Comstedt the corporate support that helps to make them even stronger in the Nordic countries. Our interest for Scandinavia is no secret, as we acquired Navinordic AB in 2021. Both companies will operate with their own distinct brands and partners, and will cumulatively provide Alliance Marine a strong foothold in Scandinavia. »
. Company created in 1983 by Jan Comstedt in Västra Frölunda (Göteborg), Sweden. . Trade-only business, currently serves 1,400 B2B accounts including OEM, ship chandlers, sportfishing shops, technical installers. . Managing Team : Mats Comstedt (CEO), Anna Comstedt Hedröd (CFO) and Magnus von Barth (Sales Manager) . Total 27 staff. . Range of 12,000 sku’s
