Navico Holding acquires Sportmanship Marin AB

Navico — the world leader in recreational marine electronics and parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad and B&G brands has recently announced the acquisition of its Swedish distributor, Sportmanship Marin AB.

This acquisition strengthens Navico’s long term go to market strategy, whilst maintaining and utilising existing relationships in Sweden. Business will continue to operate without interruption in the new subsidiary with all current employees retaining their positions and customers will benefit from a more direct relationship with Navico.

Fredrik Lewren, CEO of Sportmanship Invest (former parent company to Sportmanship Marin) said, “Despite the tough climate we’ve faced within recent years in the marine market, Sportmanship Marin has continued to increase market share, which we believe relates directly to an innovative product offering from Navico and the hard work and dedication of the staff here in Sweden. With Navico at the helm of Sportmanship Marin, our existing customers will gain access to further expertise and a streamlined supply chain. It also allows Sportmanship Invest to realise its ambition of focusing the group in the direction of sports and fashion.”

Leif Ottosson, CEO of Navico said, “We have been extremely satisfied with Sportmanship Marin as a distributor over the past few years but, in an ever challenging market, it is important that we build a closer working relationship with our customers to ensure we are satisfying their needs in the best possible way. Navico has established a strong product development process, releasing innovative new products to the market every month, and we now strive to become a world-class partner to our customers. This acquisition will help us to achieve this goal in one of our key territories.”

Sportmanship Marin AB has distributed the Navico brands with great success in Sweden over the past years alongside the worldwide leader in marine hardware, Lewmar. Sportmanship Marin will continue to distribute Lewmar products in Sweden.

For more information on Navico, or its entire line of Lowrance, Simrad Yachting and B&G marine electronics, please visit www.navico.com.