Arbeitsschutz-Express (ASX) is a fast-growing online distributor and digital platform for workwear and PPE in Germany. It has used its success in recent years and invested heavily in its infrastructure. ASX combines first-class digital customer experience with a B2B service approach providing its customers with a curated portfolio of brands, a full-size product portfolio, in-house logo-service, as well as a tailored loyalty program, ERP-integration, and white-label web shop solutions for its top customers. With >99% of sales generated online and high digital competency, ASX is the digital German market leader and pioneer, revolutionizing the still predominantly offline technical trade market in the GSA region.
Bunzl is the largest value-added distributor of non-food consumables in its sectors, with operations across the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and the UK & Ireland and around EUR 14bn revenues. As an active consolidator, Bunzl expanded its business through a dedicated acquisition strategy, having invested more than EUR 5bn on around 200 acquisitions since 2004.
“Over the last years, we have successfully grown by over 40% p.a. to over EUR 40m, and I was questioning what comes next. Jointly with Carlsquare, we have decided to find the right partner in a structured M&A process. Due to Carlsquare’s strong process management, I have had the chance to engage in intriguing talks with various parties whilst quickly executing the transaction. I am very happy with the result, and I am sure that with Bunzl, we have found the right partner to accelerate growth. I look forward to working together with Bunzl and expanding our business further.” – Philipp Wiedemann, ASX
Carlsquare acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Arbeitsschutz-Express.
