Family-owned distributor reborn after "challenging" year

An Australian mobility and point-of-sale distie has sold "a significant equity stake" and rebranded the restructured business.

POS POS, whose partners include Motorola, Panasonic, Zebra and Datalogic, announced that it would now be known as Mecari Digital Distribution Services, as the Danielli family begins sharing ownership with Minerva Solutions.

"Minerva brings significant value to our business that will see us leveraging their experience and strength in the IT industry," said Mercari CEO Daniel Danielli.

"Our joint focus it to deliver a distribution offering that provides the channel with more value, more capacity and greater capability to assist in capturing the opportunities that lay ahead."

The chief executive did not disclose the percentage or dollar value of Minerva's financial interest.

"The last 12 months for us have been some of the most exciting and at the same time challenging in our 25-year history," Danielli said. "Today we are faced with much uncertainty where technologies commoditise, competition grows and customer expectations change."

In the statement Danielli paid tribute to his staff's contributions.

"A special thank you to my team who have endured more than most in the pursuit of a shared vision to achieve something truly special – your loyalty and commitment is humbling," he said.

The statement emphasised the evolution of the company through its history, starting as "a white box manufacturer" to its current business of point of sale distribution, "where we stand proud as a specialist distributor of mobility, data capture and point of sale technologies".

Danielli said: "With a new brand, enhanced clarity of purpose and greater agility, we will be there to support you every step of the way."

Mercari Digital Distribution Services is a private company headquartered at Macquarie Park in northern Sydney, with offices also in Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and New Zealand. The distie's website lists airline, gambling, manufacturing and public safety industries as some of its verticals, as well as the traditional retail sector.