Farnell
Farnell is a global B2B distributor of electronic components operating under the Farnell (EMEA), Newark (North America), and element14 (Asia Pacific) brands, serving professional engineers, industrial buyers, educators, and makers with over one million products from approximately 2,000 manufacturers, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avnet.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1939
- HeadquartersWest Burton, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Farnell does
Farnell is a global business-to-business distributor of electronic components and engineering solutions, trading under three regional brands — Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America, and element14 in Asia Pacific — and operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avnet (NASDAQ: AVT) through its legal entity Premier Farnell UK Limited, headquartered in Leeds, England. The company distributes more than one million products from approximately 2,000 manufacturers including Analog Devices, STMicroelectronics, Vishay, Bourns, TE Connectivity, Molex, Infineon, NXP, Panasonic, and Raspberry Pi, and refreshes its catalog with roughly 3,000 new products each month across categories such as connectors, passive components, semiconductors, cable assemblies, sensors, power supplies, test and measurement equipment, RF and wireless modules, optoelectronics, embedded systems, and development tools. Its own Multicomp Pro private-label brand covers passives, electromechanical, and interconnect categories from prototype through production.
Farnell makes money primarily through transactional catalog sales of hardware, augmented by volume discount programs ("Get More for Less") and trade-account credit terms billed monthly, with no subscription layer. The company reaches customers through its own e-commerce storefronts across more than 40 country websites, supported by a documented API for trade-account holders that supports programmatic ordering, scheduled delivery arrangements, and BOM-upload / quick-order purchasing tools. Go-to-market combines direct e-commerce with sales-led account management delivered via phone, live chat, and email, targeting professional engineers in design and manufacturing, industrial and commercial electronics buyers, educators, and the maker/hobbyist community. The element14 engineering community, the Hackster.io hardware-learning partnership, the DevKit HQ selection tool, and the eTechJournal content platform form an integrated marketing and customer-engagement layer with 890,000+ registered engineers.
Recent strategic activity centers on expanding the supplier portfolio and deepening the APAC footprint: global distribution agreements with Same Sky (April 2026) and Fulham (January 2026) have broadened the audio, interconnect, thermal management, and lighting portfolios, while product launches such as the Red Pitaya STEMlab PRO Gen 2 (January 2026) and ROHM SCT40xxDLL SiC MOSFETs (September 2025) have extended coverage into higher-end test and measurement and power electronics. In May 2026, parent Avnet opened a new Avnet Integrated Solutions integration facility inside Farnell's Singapore Distribution Center to serve APAC customers pursuing China-plus-one supply chain strategies. Quality management is certified to BS EN ISO 9001:2015 and EN 9120:2018.
Farnell firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Farnell
- Legal name
- Premier Farnell UK Limited
- Website
- https://uk.farnell.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1939
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Farnell is a global B2B distributor of electronic components operating under the Farnell (EMEA), Newark (North America), and element14 (Asia Pacific) brands, serving professional engineers, industrial buyers, educators, and makers with over one million products from approximately 2,000 manufacturers, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avnet.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Farnell industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Electronic Components Distribution
- SIC
- Wholesale-Hardware (5072)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Electronics Components & OEM/ODM Sourcing Marketplaces (CRAFAHAM)
Keywords
Where Farnell is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- West Burton
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Farnell business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Electronic Components Distribution: Farnell generates revenue through the sale of electronic components, semiconductors, passive components, connectors, test equipment, tools, and related products to engineers and businesses. Products are sold at catalog prices with volume discount programs ('Get More for Less'). Revenue is one-time transactional per order rather than recurring, with API services available for trade account holders to place orders programmatically.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Catalog Pricing |
| Unit Pricing | Monthly | Trade Account Pricing |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Volume Discount Programs |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Farnell product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Farnell is a global B2B distributor of electronic components, offering over 1 million SKUs from approximately 2,000 leading manufacturers across categories such as connectors, passive components, semiconductors (ICs and discretes), sensors, power supplies, test & measurement, embedded boards, and tools. The company operates three regional storefronts — Farnell (EMEA), Newark (North America), and element14 (Asia Pacific) — and supports customers with technical documentation, BOM tools, trade accounts with API access, and same-day/next-day dispatch.
Product overview
Farnell is a global business-to-business electronic components distributor operating through regional brands: Farnell (EMEA), Newark (North America), and element14 (Asia Pacific). The company distributes over 1 million products from approximately 2,000 manufacturers including Analog Devices, STMicroelectronics, Vishay, Bourns, TE Connectivity, Molex, Infineon, NXP, Panasonic, Raspberry Pi, and others. The portfolio includes connectors, passive components, semiconductors (ICs and discretes), cable assemblies, sensors, power supplies, test & measurement equipment, RF & wireless modules, optoelectronics, embedded computers, development boards, tools, and production supplies. Farnell also offers private-label products under the Multicomp Pro brand. Digital customer resources include element14 Community, Hackster.io, DevKit HQ, eTechJournal, and purchasing tools (BOM Upload, Quick Order, Request a Quote). An API is available for programmatic access. The company is part of Avnet.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Multicomp Pro: Private label brand offering passives and electromechanical components from prototype to production.
- element14 Community
Products and services
- Electronic Components Distribution
- Multicomp Pro
- Farnell Trade Account Program with API
- Red Pitaya STEMlab PRO Gen 2
- ROHM SiC MOSFETs SCT40xxDLL Series in TOLL Package
Companies that use Farnell
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Farnell technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Farnell partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- Same SkycoreSame Sky signed a global distribution agreement with Farnell under which Farnell distributes and markets Same Sky's product portfolio including audio, interconnect, and thermal management products. Farnell offers Same Sky's parts through its Farnell brand in EMEA, Newark in North America, and element14 in Asia Pacific. The partnership is designed to expand Same Sky's regional distribution, inventory availability, and local customer support across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
- FulhamcoreFarnell formed a global distribution partnership with Fulham, a U.S.-based lighting solutions provider, to distribute Fulham's lighting products in EMEA and beyond. The partnership expands access to advanced lighting technologies including LED drivers and emergency systems through Farnell's global network.
- AvnetflagshipFarnell is an Avnet Company. Avnet is a global technology solutions company and parent organization. Farnell operates as a trading name of Premier Farnell UK Limited, part of the Avnet group.
- element14 Communitycoreelement14 is Farnell's owned online community platform for engineers with 890,000+ members providing technical discussions, learning content, and new product testing opportunities. Part of Farnell's multi-brand strategy for Asia Pacific region.
- Hackster.iominorHackster.io is a community dedicated to learning hardware, partnered with Farnell to provide maker and education community engagement. Accessible through Farnell's website.
- Avnet Integrated Solutions (Singapore)minorAvnet opened a new Avnet Integrated Solutions facility in Singapore, its sixth global integration center, located within Farnell's existing Distribution Center. The facility supports system, server, and rack build services for APAC region customers implementing China-plus-one supply chain strategies.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Farnell competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DigiKey: DigiKey is the largest high-service electronic components catalog distributor globally, offering a multi-million SKU catalog with same-day shipping. It is the closest direct competitor to Farnell in the B2B electronic components distribution space, serving the same engineer and OEM customer base.
- Mouser Electronics: Mouser is a Berkshire Hathaway-owned high-service catalog distributor of electronic components and semiconductors, with a similarly broad supplier portfolio and engineer-focused sales motion, making it a head-to-head competitor to Farnell's Newark, Farnell and element14 brands.
- RS Components: RS Components is a UK-headquartered B2B catalog distributor of electronic, electrical and industrial components owned by RS Group plc. It directly competes with Farnell in EMEA on product breadth, trade account programs and engineering customer segments.
- Future Electronics: Future Electronics is one of the largest privately-held electronic components distributors globally, competing with Farnell on broad catalog offering, engineering demand-creation and global fulfillment.
- TTI Inc. TTI is a specialty distributor of interconnect, passive, electromechanical and discrete components. It overlaps with Farnell's passives/electromechanical portfolio and competes for the same production-volume OEM customers.
- Heilind Electronics: Heilind is a specialty distributor of interconnect, electromechanical and sensor products. It competes with Farnell in connector and electromechanical categories and shares the same engineer/OEM demand-creation model.
- Rutronik: Rutronik is a privately-held European broad-line distributor of electronic components, semiconductors and embedded solutions. It directly competes with Farnell in the EMEA region across similar product categories and customer segments.
Broad incumbents
- Arrow Electronics: Arrow is one of the world's largest broad-line technology distributors serving both components and enterprise computing. It overlaps with Farnell in electronic components distribution but operates at a much larger scale with broader services beyond Farnell's niche.
- Avnet: Avnet is Farnell's publicly-listed parent company and a global broad-line technology distributor. While corporate parents are not pure peers, Avnet's component distribution business directly overlaps with Farnell's offerings and customer base.
Regional players
- WPG Holdings: WPG is the largest Asia-Pacific-based semiconductor distributor. It is comparable as a components distributor with broad supplier linecards, though its primary geographic footprint is APAC versus Farnell's EMEA-led coverage.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Farnell social profiles
Digital presenceFarnell compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Farnell financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Farnell leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Farnell funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Farnell M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Farnell
What does Farnell do?
Farnell is a global B2B distributor of electronic components, offering over 1 million SKUs from approximately 2,000 leading manufacturers across categories such as connectors, passive components, semiconductors (ICs and discretes), sensors, power supplies, test & measurement, embedded boards, and tools. The company operates three regional storefronts — Farnell (EMEA), Newark (North America), and element14 (Asia Pacific) — and supports customers with technical documentation, BOM tools, trade accounts with API access, and same-day/next-day dispatch.
Is Farnell a public or private company?
Farnell is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Farnell founded?
Farnell was founded in 1939. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Farnell based?
Farnell is headquartered in West Burton, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Farnell make money?
One revenue line is on record: electronic Components Distribution.
Who are Farnell's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DigiKey, Mouser Electronics, RS Components, Future Electronics, TTI Inc., Heilind Electronics and Rutronik. Broad incumbents are Arrow Electronics and Avnet. WPG Holdings is listed as a regional player.
Does Farnell have an API?
Yes. Farnell provides an Application Programming Interface (API) that enables customers to access product data, pricing, inventory, and place orders programmatically. Access requires registration for a trade account with the 'pay by trade account' option and separate registration for API Services. Upon approval, users receive authentication and authorisation keys. The API is subject to Farnell's Terms of Use for API and Standard Terms of Access. Usage limitations may be enforced including number of requests and data access restrictions. Data caching is limited to 48 hours maximum. Developer documentation is at uk.farnell.com/terms-of-use-for-api.
What industry is Farnell in?
Farnell's product category is Electronic Components Distribution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFAHAM, Electronics Components & OEM/ODM Sourcing Marketplaces. Its SIC code is 5072.