Company Profile
Executive summary
Minitel (est.1987) is as a leading value added, multi-platform distributor
of IT software/hardware and consumer electronics products
in Portugal, with indirect sales through a 1200-strong reseller
network and all major Portuguese retail chains.
Minitel main distribution brands include Adobe, Symantec, Sony
Media SW, Nuance, GFI, FileMaker, Kaspersky, G Data, LaCie, Seagate,
WatchGuard, Lexar, Netgear, Monster, Pinnacle, Kensington,
Iris, Wacom, Microtek, Seiko Instruments, Ion, Archos, Formac,
Sonnet, Tucano, Crucial, Mimio, Topcom, Gear4, XtremeMac, Miglia,
Solio, Intracom, Klipsch and Dicota.
In 2006 Minitel began distribution activities into the Spanish market,
operating from its own offices in central Madrid.
Business Philosophy
Minitel distributes its product lines exclusively through indirect sales channels.
Due to the growth of consumer electronics and iPod/iPhone accessoriessales, the need to address these new markets led distribution channels to diversify from IT dealers and include also large national superstores and retail chains, such as FNAC, Vobis/Worten (Sonae), El Corte Inglès, MediaMarkt and The Phone House.
These new consumer channels allow Minitel to move in volume its fast moving product lines such as disc drives, memory cards, iPod/iPhone audio and video accessories, and complements Minitel dealer network, which carries often the same product lines but further provides installation, training and after-sales support.
On the IT side of distribution, brands like Symantec and Adobe software, and complex WatchGuard, GFI antivirus and security systems are addressed through computer VARs and specialized corporate resellers selling to medium and large corporations and government accounts.
The technical requirements of its high-end product lines, given the complexities of the imaging, security and networking markets, has driven Minitel to build a strong technical team, which grew in recent years to address also the growing support demand from consumer electronics costumers.
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Other Group companies
Drawing upon Minitel market experience and background distributing
US computer products in Portugal, Minitel launched a direct
marketing company, Multiple Zones Portugal SA (Est. 1993),
publisher of Macintosh and PC catalogues under the trademarks
MAC ZONE PORTUGAL and PC ZONE PORTUGAL, selling PC and
Macintosh products to small and medium-sized companies, government
agencies, public companies, home businesses and endusers.
More recently, Multiple Zones opened Portugal first Apple
Centre Stores in Lisbon (4Q’05) and Oporto (1Q’06), becoming
the largest Apple costumer in Portugal
Given the success of the Apple Centre Stores, these were transformed
into larger, multi-platform stores, addressing IT and C/
E prosumers, under the sponsorship of flagship brands such as
Dell, Toshiba, Samsung and Sony, amongst others. A separate
company, VidaPortátil was created in 2008 to run and manage
these new stores.
Multiple Zones and VidaPortátil are totally differentiated from Minitel,
through their own corporate identity, staff, costumer base
and independent management team, allowing market flexibility
needed to quickly address and exploit emerging market opportunities
and niches in the IT and C/E markets.
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