Nadia Mansour, Deputy Managing Director of Econocom Morocco, studied in Nice and obtained a master’s degree in industrial engineering. She then made good use of her interest in finance by starting her career at Texas Instruments in the firm’s business planning team. This gave her the chance to work in an international environment. Next, she joined HP CDG as a program management officer, then as a human resources director. Later, she joined Econocom Morocco as Director of Human Resources. And in 2018 she became the entity’s Deputy Managing Director. Nadia is passionate about human issues and the challenges of employer branding. In this episode, she talks about the ‘Feel Good’ label of certification: an accreditation procedure for Econocom employees that gives the group even more added value in terms of expertise.

So listen to this new episode of Econocom Voices with Nadia Mansour as she shares her passion for hiking in the countryside around Nice and for Moroccan haute couture.

Click on the image to start listening to the podcast.

Anne Bruchon

Group Communication Director

For this new year, I would like to wish you and your family and friends the very best. Please accept my warm wishes, which I hope will inspire you.

The year 2024 is dawning like a new page in our group’s story – a page full of promise and opportunities. And I am proud and grateful to stand before you as the Chairman of this outstanding group.

Our ability to stay united, to work as a single unit, to overcome boundaries and to celebrate our diversity through what we have called ‘One Econocom’ is a vital feature of our force.

‘One Econocom’ is the name of our new strategic plan, which we initiated to rekindle the strong organic growth that we have enjoyed in the past and to adjust to our clients’ needs, which are constantly changing in the face of globalisation today.

This past year has been a year of both stability and construction thanks to efforts from each one of you:

• despite a sluggish market in IT distribution, the financial year 2023 is ending with growth that our TMF and Services business lines have brought us;
• at the same time, we have developed a strategic plan to meet demand from our clients better;
• and lastly, we have been rewarded for our sustainability impact with a gold medal from EcoVadis (an independent firm in extra-financial assessment) and for our commitment to diversity with a place in the Financial Times Diversity Leaders ranking of European firms.

Today, I would like to express my gratitude for your day-to-day commitment and hard work.

Together, we have overcome challenges and made significant progress. We have strengthened our group’s foundations with solid results, business activities repositioned in growth markets, a new unified governing structure, and a fresh strategic plan to speed up our growth.

At the dawn of 2024, I am convinced that our unity is the catalyst for continuous growth.

I also hope that this new year will mark the gradual return of festive events. These moments of cohesion and shared joy are the group’s DNA. The Covid period helped boost remote working and hot desking, but it also created a sense of isolation and it weakened social bonds detrimentally. I am now pledging to reforge these ties in 2024.

Growth is not just about pursuing financial success. It is also a sign of fruitful teamwork, constant innovation and an ability to adapt to change.

That is what our new strategic plan embodies by putting an emphasis on:

• The huge strengthening of our sales force – the vehicle for our organic growth – with the launch of the ‘Mission Impossible’ programme, the aim of which is to recruit 100 agents in 1,000 days.
• The creation of ‘Business Development and Support’, headed by Israel Garcia, the purpose of which is to structure our international deals and align our offers. Initial examples that illustrate this initiative, such as the Mercedes and Daikin deals, demonstrate the added value that we can bring our clients through the combination of our activities or our geographical sites.
• The targeted external growth that will reinforce and extend our areas of expertise, especially in the infrastructure and audiovisual fields.
• The clear aim that we have to improve our societal and environmental impact.
• The revamp of all our tools, overseen by Quentin Bouchard.

Together, let us write this new page in our group’s story and let us keep in mind the power of teamwork and cohesion.

May each stage that we go through reinforce our unity, contribute to our collective prosperity and help us enjoy an exciting adventure, both as individuals and as a group.

I would like this new year to be full of remarkable accomplishments, challenges overcome and moments shared.

Please allow me to wish you all a superb year full of success in 2024.

Jean-Louis Bouchard 

It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for at the end of the year: Econocom’s Group 2024 greetings card is now available! Entirely digital and 100% customizable, this card is a powerful expression of our new  strategic plan  .

You will find below all useful information to easily use it.

If you need any assistance or further information, Marion COURTOT, from the Communications Team, will be happy to guide you.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you an early happy festive season.

Patrick Van Den Berg                     Angel Benguigui

    Managing Director                         Managing Director

How to create a greetings card

• Go to: https://greetings2024.econocom.com/
  • User name: communication
  • Password: ZvaLX2mNk4

 Be careful not to add spaces before or after the password when copying and pasting.

 

• You can personalise your greetings message and put the logo of your entity here.  

Once you’ve created the card, it will be emailed to you so you can then forward it to your contact(s).

Instructions for integrating a banner in your email signatures

You can personalize your email signatures with a greeting cards banner.

To integrate a banner in your signature:

1. 1. Save the banner of your choice (see attachments) on your workstation.
   2. Open a new email.
   3. Click on « Insert » > « A signature » > « Signatures ».
   4. Select the signature you want to modify.
   5. In the edit space of your signature, click on the following icon  
   6. Choose the visual of your choice and click on « Insert ».
   7. Don’t forget to save before clicking on « ok ».

You’ve heard about it several times. It’s part of our strategic plan. Now it’s here!

After months of preparations, I am delighted to share the exciting news with you that today we have launched our new brand: ‘Gather‘. 

Gather will strengthen and expand our audiovisual (AV), Unified Communications (UC) and Information Technology (IT) capabilities, throughout Europe and beyond.

This new brand underlines Econocom’s commitment to redefine the audiovisual landscape, offering clients innovation, expertise, and a seamless convergence of services on a global scale; for every organization in every industry like multinationals, airports, retail chains, financial institutes, governments, and stadiums.

The international coordination and representation of Gather will be done by Jean Pierre Overbeek, currently the CEO of BIS|Econocom, who has an impressive track record of 25 years in the dynamic audiovisual & information technology industry.

The mission of Gather as a brand is to lead the way in the work, retail, travel and leisure space revolution by embracing a human-centric approach to technology, while recognizing its broader responsibility to the environment, society, and its clients.

Delivering more than 4,500 solutions annually, Gather serves over 2,000 organizations in various industries across Europe. It’s up to us all to extend that customer base in the months and years to come.

I am genuinely enthusiastic about the possibilities that Gather brings; for our customers and for us all.

For further details, please don’t hesitate to contact your Country Manager.

Best regards, 

Jean-Louis Bouchard 

Founder and CEO 

• A market for workplace, audiovisual, infrastructure and networks expected to grow steadily;
• An acceleration in deploying end-to-end offerings covering all customer needs for digital assets;
• A clear roadmap to onboard all internal teams around ambitious targets;
• A standalone financed plan to reach €4 billion in revenues, double the net income and reduce the net financial debt by 2028

Following the years 2019-2023 marked by a transformation of the group and a refocusing on its core business lines and strategic geographies, Econocom aims to return to robust growth trajectory and strengthen its value proposition to meet the new challenges of its customers in the areas of the digital workplace, audiovisual systems and infrastructure and networks.

An average total growth target of 8% per year to reach €4 billion in 2028

The group will primarily focus on organic growth with the development of solutions in future segments (audiovisual, digital signage, etc.), the deployment of end-to-end offers including distribution, finance leasing and related services or strengthening responsible digital through the refurbishment and extension of the life of digital assets.

Econocom revised its initial €5 billion 2028 revenue forecast, which included a larger share of external growth.  The One econocom plan, which aims to reach €4 billion in revenues in 2028, includes approximately €400 million in income from future acquisitions and is fully financed without the need for additional capital raising.

A strategic vision based on strengthening synergies and creating value for customers

Econocom intends to become the first partner of companies and administrations, by covering from end to end the needs concerning access to essential digital assets including:

• design and modernization of the work environment (through collaboration and video conferencing solutions) and the IT architecture that underpins this environment (with the adoption of secure hybrid cloud models);
• the distribution of new or reconditioned equipment (workstation, audiovisual, infrastructure and IT network) and associated software applications, through a wide catalogue integrating many services (digitalization, order management, storage, customization, logistics, delivery, installation);
• innovative and tailor-made leasing solutions, alternatives to capex investment, including optimization of the asset lifecycle and their environmental footprint;
• support for users with dedicated service desk, on-site support and maintenance, operational maintenance and continuous security of IT infrastructures and networks;
• end-of-life management of devices, including management of their return, erasure of data and their recycling and repackaging where appropriate.

With recognized expertise in each of these businesses, through its historical expertise and more recent acquisitions, Econocom aims to accelerate the development of synergies on the horizon of its 2024-2028 strategic plan to promote growth and increase profitability with a view to achieving an operating margin of more than 5% in 2028, and to double net income. This performance will be accompanied by a decrease in net financial debt, due to the strong organic growth component of the plan, and thanks to a solid generation of free cash flow

In parallel, the group will intensify its extra-financial performance initiatives over the duration of the plan with a particular focus on repairability and lengthening the life of customers’ digital assets, on reducing its carbon footprint and strengthening equal opportunities for all its employees. With this in mind, Econocom aims to achieve the platinum level of Ecovadis® Sustainability Rating by 2028.

Objectives achievable through clearly identified levers

In order to carry out its strategic plan, the group will rely on several growth levers that will allow it to increase its market share with new customers and increase revenue with existing ones.

The group will intensify its recruitment and training efforts within its sales teams to strengthen the coverage of its target geographies and improve commercial efficiency.

Econocom will also expand its solution offering to further integrate the “As-a-Service” component that allows customers to enjoy a seamless experience based on value-added services.

Synergies between solutions and geographies will also be strengthened to enable an accelerated deployment of the group’s expertise. As a leading company in Europe, Econocom is ideally positioned to provide harmonized solutions to customers with multi-country presence and needs, which represents a strong lever of differentiation from local competition.

Finally, Econocom will continue its targeted M&A program in geographic areas where the group needs to increase its critical size or strengthen certain expertise.

Jean-Louis Bouchard, Chairman and CEO of Econocom says, « Together with the Board of Directors and the management team, I am very pleased to open a new chapter in the history of Econocom, with a resolutely growth-oriented ambition. Our vision for the group is to become a key European player in the workplace, audiovisual and infrastructure sectors by adopting a comprehensive and end-to-end approach to our customers’ needs. We will intensify our efforts to strengthen their support from the design of their environments to the recycling of end-of-life assets. By capitalizing on our talents, synergies between the Group’s businesses and the growth of sales teams, we will increase the attractiveness of our offers and promote cross-selling throughout Europe. It is all united that we will succeed in this new plan that we call One econocom.”

The following developments were achieved during the first nine months of 2023:

• Products & Solutions (P&S) revenue amounted to €862 million, representing limited growth¹ of 0.1%. Business continued to benefit from the successful integration of SEMIC in Spain and LYDIS in the Netherlands, but posted an organic² decline of 5.1% after strong growth during the equivalent period in 2022. Indeed, the current market environment, marked in particular by persistent component price inflation and a steady rise in interest rates, is less favourable than last year, causing companies to postpone their investment decisions. Nevertheless, Econocom held up better than the rest of its benchmark³, mainly due to its cross-divisional combined offerings.
• Technology Management & Financing (TMF) revenue edged up¹3% to €689 million (down 1.0% on an organic basis²). Since the beginning of the year, TMF has managed to match the level of almost all of the major revenue-generating contracts recorded in H1 2022. Econocom expects to return to stronger growth in the fourth quarter, traditionally a high seasonal peak.
• In line with the second quarter, Services maintained a positive growth trajectory (total¹ and organic²), up 3.9% to €374 million driven by buoyancy on markets outside France.

End-of-year outlook

Given the level of growth at the end of September, the Group estimates that its 2023 revenue growth will be positive but below the 5% target, despite an expected fourth quarter increase in revenue compared to 2022.

Thanks to an active policy of preserving margins and optimizing overheads, the Group nevertheless expects net income in 2023 to be of the same order of magnitude as in 2022.

2024-2028 Strategic Plan

Econocom will present its strategic plan to the financial community on 16 November in Brussels during a dedicated Capital Markets Day.

Next publication: annual revenue 2023

Econocom will post its 2024 financial information publication schedule on the company website by the end of the year.

Read all about our half-year results in the press release (in the Resources section of this page).

^{1 At constant standards}

^{2 At constant standards and scope}

^{3 The B2B IT distribution market has declined 15% on average according to several benchmark studies.}

And of more than just technology! Ahmed began his career as a sales engineer with IBM, developing strong expertise in workflow and unified communications solutions. He then specialized in e-commerce at major corporations like LVMH, Carrefour and the Kingfisher Group, supporting them during the e-commerce boom.

From his extensive career within the group to his passion for new breakthrough technologies and particularly generative AI, Ahmed Morjane also shares his love of literature, not least science fiction. The CEO of Apps, Cloud and Data opens up about a favourite writer: Isaac Asimov, author of the Foundation and Robots series, which Ahmed finds especially topical. Interview.

Listen Ahmed Morjane on Econocom Voices.

Click on the imagine to start listening to the podcast.

Olivier Beaunay

Group Chief Communications Officer