Van den Ende & Deitmers takes a 30% stake in Central Point, one of the largest online providers of computer products. The company offers consumers, government and companies more than 230.000 items from almost 1.000 brand manufacturers. Central Point is one of the largest and fastest growing online sellers of computer products and is part of the Dutch Deloitte Technology Fast 50.
Central Point was founded end of 2002 by Brian Speelman and Sebastiaan Hooft. The company has experienced enormous growth since its inception generating over €29 million in revenues in 2007. The website of Central Point is in the top 6 of most visited ICT hard- and software websites in the Netherlands.
‘The participation of Van den Ende & Deitmers in Central Point confirms that we are on our way to becoming the most popular online computer seller in the Netherlands. We look forward to putting their knowledge and experience to work to build upon our strategy of delivering computer products fast, reliably and sharply priced to our customers’, claim the Central Point founders and co-owners Brian Speelman and Sebastiaan Hooft. ‘Most importantly to Central Point is the fact that more than 100.000 customers have a personal account on www.centralpoint.nl. Therefore we not only have their order history, but also a wish list for the future. Therefore our reach in the market and the knowledge about the customer is larger than the largest retail chains or system integrators in the country. It is a compliment that entrepreneurs like Joop van den Ende and Hubert Deitmers see that Central Point is ready for further growth’.
Hubert Deitmers is managing partner and co-owner of Van den Ende & Deitmers: ‘Central Point is uniquely positioned in a fast growing market segment. Businesses and consumers are buying more and more products online. Based on the ‘long tail’ idea, Central Point capitalizes marvelously on this trend. We have a deep appreciation for the way the company has built its leading position. We are enthusiastic about the plans and ambitions of this young company and we want to put into action our knowledge and experience to build on Central Point’s already strong position. Currently Central Point is the third e-commerce company in our portfolio.’