Press release -
Founders of RLVNT Distribution could be Entrepreneurs Of The Year
When Daniel Björnemalm and Martin Liljegren started RLVNT Distribution 8 years ago, their start-up capital was 500 000 SEK. This year they are expected to turn over just under 400 million SEK in the Nordics, without having received any money in external capital. Even though the journey has been fraught with both ups and downs, the ambition has always been the same; To challenge the role of a conventional distributor. Now they are nominated to EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020.
It was in 2012 Daniel Björnemalm and Martin Liljegren made the decision to start what later became RLVNT Distribution AB. Together they saw great potential in founding a new distributor on the market that focused on sports- and health related electronics.
“As a distributor, working with both consumer electronics and the sports industry was completely unique when we started. I even think we were first in Europe to do so. This is still what makes us strong, we think differently. RLVNT is not a traditional distributor. We sell to resellers in sports as well as players in consumer electronics and pharmacies. In addition, we have a large and dedicated marketing department and brands where we handle direct sales to customers, which is extremely unusual in our industry. The need for a direct channel to reach end consumers is of utmost importance for building brands today, not least when it comes to collaborations with ambassadors and sport profiles”, says Daniel Björnemalm, founder RLVNT Distribution.
When Daniel and Martin started RLVNT 8 years ago their start-up capital was 500 000 SEK. This year they are expected to turn over just under 400 million SEK in the Nordics, without having received any money in external capital. The close relationship with the company's financial partner/bank and the importance of turning over the inventory extremely quickly has enabled the strong growth. The focus since 2017 has also been on developing the two subsidiaries RLVNT France and RLVNT Benelux, which also have an equally strong upward trend.
Now they are nominated in this year's edition of EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020, one of the world's largest and most prestigious awards for entrepreneurs. The competition is arranged in over 60 countries and is organized in Sweden for the 25th time. EY has received approximately 700 nominations from across the country that have been reviewed by an external independent jury. Daniel and Martin have now qualified to the region final in West Sweden.
“We are very happy with the nomination in EOY. It´s a reward for the hard work we have put in over the years, because it has certainly been fraught with a lot of challenges. But now everything is going extremely well where we are about to almost doubling sales from the previous year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. During the year, we have really proven to ourselves that we are on the right track. We focus on developing our own business, our staff and our personal relationships in the network. Working from home was not a big drama for us, we abolished fixed working hours already in 2016”, says Martin Liljegren, founder RLVNT Distribution.
Today, RLVNT works with a number of well-established brands such as Hyperice, Marshall, Urbanears, Wahoo, Withings and Adidas. The focus is on sports, health and lifestyle, where technology and innovation bring the brand portfolio together.
The regional final of West Sweden in Entrepreneur of the Year will be held on November 19. Thereafter, the six regional finalists will advance to the national finals in January 2021.
Read more about EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020: www.eoy.se
About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ is the world’s most prestigious business awards program for unstoppable entrepreneurs. These visionary leaders deliver innovation, growth and prosperity that transform our world. The program engages entrepreneurs with insights and experiences that foster growth. It connects them with their peers to strengthen entrepreneurship around the world. EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the first and only truly global awards program of its kind. It celebrates entrepreneurs through regional and national awards programs in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries. Winners go on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ title. www.ey.com/eoy
Topics
RLVNT Distribution is the number one distributor and specialist in wearables, hearables and sports- & lifestyle technology in the Nordics and Benelux.
We are a young, entrepreneurial company driven by our passion for fitness, innovation, health, wearables, hearables and technology. We bring relevant products to the Nordics, Benelux and France markets through sales offices in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, France and the Benelux.
We have had a strong and rapid growth since the start in 2012. With more than 35 years experience in the distribution industry, RLVNT is the leading distributor of technology products to small and big resellers in France, all the Nordics and Benelux countries. We pride ourselves in distributing innovative products from world leading and respectable brands such as Marshall, Hyperice, Powerdot, Withings and Wahoo.
