Digi-Key Sweeps 2014 Elektra European Electronics Industry Awards

President Mark Larson Recognized with "Lifetime Achievement" Honor; Company's Unique Model Wins "Distributor of the Year"

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minnesota, USA - 2014 年 12 月 03 日

Global electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, the industry leader in electronic component selection, availability and delivery, was recently awarded two prestigious honors at the annual Elektra European Electronics Industry Awards event last week in London. Digi-Key President Mark Larson accepted the event's top award, the "Lifetime Achievement" Award and was joined by Digi-Key's Regional UK Sales Director Ian Wallace and Business Development Manager Ben Brooks to accept the award for "Distributor of the Year."

Elektra European Electronics Industry Awards 2014

According to the judges, Digi-Key was selected based on the rapid adoption of its unique hybrid distribution model along with and its commitment to innovation, leadership, an expanded European customer base and impressive year-over-year sales performance.

“Digi-Key has redefined its channel strategy as a hybrid distributor which combines its established web-based sales activity with European field sales teams to provide local support,” explained the Elektra Award judging panel. “It has also developed its short-order production business targeting new customers. As a result it saw sales growth of 32% in the UK in the last 12 months. A significant change in the distributor’s traditional business model was a bold move and the resulting sale growth was impressive.”

Larson was chosen as the winner of this year's Elektra Lifetime Achievement Award as a result of his leading role in creating one of the largest, fastest growing global brands in electronic component distribution. Attributed to the company's vast product selection and best-in-class website user experience, the company is consistently chosen by product design engineers "most preferred" distributor in the industry.

"Mark Larson was instrumental in expanding this innovative organization from a small, local US-based business to a global leader in ecommerce which today derives the majority of its sales via the Internet," commented award presenter Richard Wilson of Electronics Weekly. "It's an astonishing success story to follow Digi-Key from its humble beginnings to a stand-out market leader with an anticipated $1.76 billion in annual sales, 3,200 employees and a fulfillment capacity of over 30,000 orders per day."

The Elektra Awards are the industry's most respected awards, celebrating the achievements of individuals and companies across the European electronics industry. More information can be found at www.elektraawards.co.uk.

Photo inset: Mark Larson (center) proudly displays Digi-Key's two awards with UK Business Development Manager Ben Brookes (left) and Regional Sales Director Ian Wallace (right).

About Digi-Key Corporation

Digi-Key Corporation, based in Thief River Falls, Minn., is a global, full-service provider of both prototype/design and production quantities of electronic components, offering more than four million products from over 650 quality name-brand manufacturers. With over one million products in stock and an impressive selection of online resources, Digi-Key is committed to stocking the broadest range of electronic components in the industry and providing the best service possible to its customers. Additional information and access to Digi-Key's broad product offering is available at www.digikey.cn.