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When was COMPUTERLINKS founded? |
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COMPUTERLINKS was founded in 1983 by the current CEO, Stephan Link. The company went public in 1996 and was floated on the stock market in 1999 |
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As an IT marketer, what does COMPUTERLINKS actually do? |
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COMPUTERLINKS is the link between IT manufacturers and system and software vendors. Our mission is to track down the best future-oriented hardware and software solutions, test them, and then inform our customers of these innovations and provide training, consultation, product marketing and technical support services. |
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What speaks in COMPUTERLINKS’ favour? |
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Today, COMPUTERLINKS has a complete, cutting-edge and complementary product portfolio. We offer today’s state of the art. Our strong market position in Europe makes us a particularly interesting partner for technologically leading international manufacturers, and our quality services for all major manufacturers have made us the European market leader. We offer our customers a full-service package consisting of dealer-oriented marketing, technical support, practical training events, a highly professional marketing team and efficient logistics. |
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Why don’t manufacturers sell directly to system and software vendors? |
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Manufacturers are in intense competition with one another and concentrate primarily on research and development. The European market is a closed book from an American manufacturer’s point of view; characteristics such as different currencies, languages, cultures and trade journals and the idea of working with hundreds of system vendors from around the world is a nightmare for such companies. Not to mention the additional manpower they would have to provide for sales, support, etc . |
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How many people currently work at COMPUTERLINKS? |
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In 2006, COMPUTERLINKS hired – in parallel to business development – many highly qualified staff in order to secure corporate success and lay the foundations for further growth. The number of employees rose by 10% during 2006. At the end of the year, COMPUTERLINKS employed 412 staff. .
The following table shows the changes in the number of employees over the last few years : |
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| 2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
| 412 |
373 |
314 |
278 |
282 | |
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What market barriers exist for the COMPUTERLINKS business model? |
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On one hand, manufacturers only provide a very limited number of marketing licences per country, and tend to favour experienced IT marketers who are able to prove their technical know-how, good customer relations and the turnover that comes with it. Newcomers have a tough job even winning contracts for attractive products. On the other hand, training, consultation and technical support are a critical success factor to system and software vendors. Appropriately trained employees are hard to come by. In this respect, potential competitors must overcome exceedingly high market entry barriers . |
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Can’t your customers also procure products from a competitor? |
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Of course there are competitors on the market in certain product fields, but none with a comparable complementary product portfolio and similar range of services. Experience has shown that customers are very loyal when dealing in highly complicated products that require a lot of explanation. A technician who trained at COMPUTERLINKS and had a good experience with its technical support will continue to work with COMPUTERLINKS in the future. In our market segment, competition is based on expertise and not on prices . |
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Which strategies does COMPUTERLINKS follow to sustain growth? |
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Our strategic goal is to further our position as market leader through additional locations in interesting markets, to synchronise contracts with leading manufacturers on a European level and to continue to sensibly diversify our existing product portfolio . |
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Where can I read more on the Management Board? |
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Information on the COMPUTERLINKS Management Board can be found here. |
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How can I order the latest annual report? |
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The current COMPUTERLINKS annual report can be downloaded as a PDF file or ordered in printed form from investor-relations@computerlinks.de or by phone at +49 89 930 99 227 . |
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Where are COMPUTERLINKS shares listed, and in which form? |
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COMPUTERLINKS shares are listed in the form of owner’s ordinary shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and on the open market in Berlin, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich and Stuttgart. They are admitted to the “Prime Standard”, thereby fulfilling international transparency requirements . |
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How can I buy COMPUTERLINKS shares? |
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COMPUTERLINKS shares may be purchased through your depositary bank, a stock broker, or in general any institution offering brokerage services. You will need an investment portfolio where the shares can be entered, and should issue your purchase request where your portfolio is held. |
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Who can I speak to concerning questions about the shares? |
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Shareholders can contact the COMPUTERLINKS Investor Relations Team at any time. |
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When does the next general meeting take place? |
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All COMPUTERLINKS financial dates can be found here. |
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How widely held are COMPUTERLINKS shares? |
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Shares in circulation numbered 6,727,167 in the third quarter of 2007. Around 94.88% are in widespread shareholdings. |
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What does the COMPUTERLINKS shareholder structure look like? |
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An overview of the shareholder structure can be found here. |
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How high is the COMPUTERLINKS market capitalisation? |
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Market capitalisation was 98.1 million euro as of 31 December 2006 . |
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What is the Security Identification Number for COMPUTERLINKS shares? And what does this have to do with the so-called ISIN number? |
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The COMPUTERLINKS AG share has Security Identification Number (WKN) 544 880 and ISIN DE0005448807 .
The International Securities Identification Number ISIN has replaced the German Security Identification Number (Wertpapierkennnummer). It has been in use in stock transactions since 22 April 2003. According to press reports, many institutes announced that they would continue to accept the WKN in parallel with the ISIN even after the appointed date. The twelve character ISIN number consists of three elements:
- the country code: DE for Germany,
- a national identification number: the old security identification number, extended by three zeros,
- and a single digit error checking number . |
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Would you like more information on COMPUTERLINKS and the COMPUTERLINKS shares |
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Please contact our Investor-Relations-Team. |
+49 (0) 89 930 99 0
