Eagerly expanding Finnish motorcycle parts, garments and accessories group Duell Bike-Center has added Tecno Globe, a leading French trade distributor of motorcycle and bicycle-oriented electronic products – alarms, trackers, satnavs, mobile phone accessories, etc – to its list of recent acquisitions.
Already claiming to be the largest aftermarket distributive operator across Scandinavian countries, with headline Nordic bike apparel brands such as Halvarssons and Lindstrands, Duell has been building a wider European presence since 2019. Recent purchases this year have included Dutch wholesaler IGM Trading and its German associate Grand Canyon. Funding comes from Duell’s majority shareholding parent, Finland-based private equity firm Sponsor Capital.
Founded in 1995 by Fabrice Chrétien, Tecno Globe supplies a network of more than 4000 dealers in France, has 39 staff and turned over £18m last year.
Chrétien, who will remain involved as a business strategy advisor, said he was looking forward to a future under the Duell umbrella: “The chemistry was right from the start, and we run our business with the same spirit. Tecno Globe gains a strong new owner which enables us to continue our existing business model, but also offers a perspective to expand step by step.”
Duell Bike-Center chief executive Jarkko Ämmälä concured: “With all the passion for powersport that everyone at Duell has, we are also calculating business people. It will not be easy to compete in the already heavily occupied markets of central and southern Europe. Therefore we put healthy long-term growth in front of quick, but possibly only short-term, success.”
From left to right: Fabrice Chrétien, founder and former owner of Tecno Globe, Jarkko Ämmälä CEO of Duell and Dennis Becker CEO of Tecno Globe