TO STRENGTHEN MODINO IN THE NORDICS

Pål Rune Kaalen has been managing director of Modino since 1 August. After six years as head of the consumer market at Telia Norway, he sees considerable growth potential at his new employer.

– My impression of Modino is that it is a solid, independent player that has succeeded with many exciting things in competition with many others trying to fill the same role. But it is essential that people know Modino exists. Those who have worked with the distribution and sale of mobile phones know us well, but there are many others who do not know us well enough, Kaalen tells the trade magazine Elektronikkbransjen.

We meet him six weeks after he started, at the head office in Skedsmokorset, located in the building of majority owner Otto Olsen Holding AS, which houses both its head office and main warehouse, including a robotic warehouse.

– I have received a fantastic welcome. Here I have met a group of highly committed, knowledgeable people with a great deal of experience who enjoy doing good business. It is quite informal, with style and a twinkle in the eye, so it suits me perfectly, he says.

Modino has more than 700 retailers and mobile operators as customers in Norway and, according to Kaalen, is Norway’s largest independent distributor of products in mobile telephony and consumer electronics.

More visible

Kaalen did not know Modino particularly well before he was contacted about the position, but quickly found that the company had a strong market position.

– The company is in an early phase, while much of its expertise has been built up over many years. It has grown beyond what it has traditionally been good at and has been able to add new areas of focus.

In a press release about the appointment, he points out that the company has a unique position and great potential.

– We will become even more relevant and reach more people. We have a good position and a solid reputation, but we must ensure that more people know about us. I am confident that even more will want to work with us when they experience the commitment of my colleagues, the quality of what we offer, and the efficiency of our deliveries, says Kaalen.

Belief in circularity

Modino is now engaged in a strategic process to chart its future course. Kaalen believes that growth opportunities lie both in traditional telecoms and in new product areas.

– Within traditional telecoms, it is not necessarily moving a product from A to B that is most important, but the services and the partnership you have with the players, where you are more closely integrated on the technology side.

He highlights robot vacuum cleaners and other small electronics as examples of categories where the distributor can play a greater role.

– These manufacturers are often based outside Norway, and they need a good partnership with someone who can help them ensure that end users can benefit from it. Roborock is an example of this.

At the same time, he believes the circular economy will become increasingly important.

– I believe we will see far more categories where products in use today can be given an extended life, but this depends on those products receiving attention from players such as Modino to ensure that the product is safe to use and that it is packaged and sent on to new users.

Used mobile phones are growing

Subsidiary Teleoutlet is a central part of this initiative. Its online shop sells used mobile phones and accessories directly to consumers, and at its production facilities connected to the warehouse, we get to see how the phones are checked both manually and with the help of robots before being packaged and sent back onto the market.

– We currently take in quite a lot of goods, where we can choose to sell larger batches to the business market, to end users, or to players in other countries. Teleoutlet plays a fantastic role there, and the company is experiencing strong growth in the number of customers, volume and turnover. Customer feedback measured through Trustpilot remains at a consistently high level and is in fact increasing, says Kaalen.

He believes demand for used mobile phones will continue to rise.

– The cost of new phones has become very high, and we are seeing that the lifespan of mobile phones is much longer than before. Corporate customers and the public sector are looking for opportunities to reuse what already exists, rather than chasing something new, he says.

Nordic potential

Norway is by far Modino’s largest market. Sweden accounts for around 25 per cent of the business, while Denmark represents less than 5 per cent.

– We are seeing positive overall development measured by profit before tax. In Sweden, we are still quite heavily focused on the telecoms sector, but we have started to become very good at supplying campaign products, for example related to Samsung TVs for households. It is a growing business in Sweden.

As the new head of the Nordics, he sees opportunities for further development across the markets.

– We will simplify, strengthen and renew ourselves with even more value-added products and services. I have particular faith in the circular model, where we help devices achieve longer and multiple lives. We deliver across a broad range and are an important part of our partners’ value chain. Therefore, we have room to become even more innovative, both in what we deliver and how we do it, says Kaalen.

NOK 2.2 billion in 2025

In 2025, the group had turnover of NOK 2.2 billion in Norway, NOK 750 million in Sweden and NOK 79 million in Denmark, as well as NOK 15 million in Finland (which has now been discontinued).

– As for 2026, financial performance is developing as expected, driven by growth in small electronics, says Kaalen.

In 2025, Modino sold 400,000 new mobile phones, as well as 60,000 pre-owned ones.

Of the company’s 75 employees in Norway, 60 are based at Skedsmokorset, including just under 30 in the warehouse, which has an area of 4,500 square metres.

The majority owner is Otto Olsen Holding AS, while Per Ivar Kleivdal (director of Teleoutlet/BBTI), Øistein Dinar Hansen (HR, ESG & compliance director), Anders Fornebo (IT director) and Arne Hvidsten (former managing director) own the remainder in equal shares.