Romanian Allview brand owner invests in AKAI regional distributor

Visual Fan (ALW), the Romanian company listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) that developed the Allview brand, announced that it is in the process of taking over "a significant stake" in a regional distributor of the "Japanese brand" AKAI - which mainly sells portable speakers on the local market. Allview was originally specialised on the smartphone/tablets segment but more recently shifted its focus to the smart TV segment.

The targeted company is Intervision Trading RO. Founded in 1996 and an AKAI distributor since 2009, Intervision Trading had an ascending evolution on the audio systems distribution market, registering a turnover of EUR 7.42 mln last year. The company is the exclusive distributor of the AKAI brand in Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary.

AKAI was founded by Masukichi Akai and his son in 1929 but became troubled, and it left the audio industry in 1991. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the AKAI brand and now distributes various electronic products such as LED TV, washing machines, clothes dryers, air conditioners and smartphones, through collaborations with other electronics companies bearing relevant expertise. On the Romanian market, eMAG mainly sells portable speakers under the AKAI brand.

"The expansion of the portfolio with complementary products generates an increase in profitability," said Lucian Peticilă, CEO and founder of Visual Fan.

(Photo source: the company)