Wael El Kady, senior product manager at regional IT distributor BDL Egypt, says the company is ready for growth in 2015 and beyond.
Talk us through what your focus has been in 2014 in terms of developing your retail and traditional reseller channel business for Quantum in Egypt? We were focusing on growth in Egypt by presenting attractive opportunities through our promotions and warranty, and other value adds we offer like after-sales service. We are paying attention to offer latest products and latest technology with high value, which are being offered at reasonable price point. Going forward, we plane to increase the volume of products with an emphasis on the consumer market.
What is the state of the Egyptian tablet market? Is this segment consolidating? The tablet market trends in Egypt are moving in two directions. These include choosing tablets at the expense of laptops, and secondly, the push towards portable devices and traditional smart phone devices. A recent study in Egypt has predicted that tablet sales will overtake computer sales in 2015, as consumers move toward this type of technology. This is good for the Quantum brand and the plans we have for the market.
What would you say were the major milestones that you achieved in developing your business in the Egypt market in the past 12 months? As you know, the economic situation and political conditions in Egypt over the past three years had affected business big timeand impacted the stability of the company. That said, a major milestone was to survive the harsh conditions and emerge from the instability so strongly. We have restored of our key relationships to pre-upheaval levels and our customers are confident about doing business with BDL. This year, we plan to spread across Egypt and take the Quantum product array to the various segments of the market.
What will be key for sustaining growth in the Egypt in 2015? There is no solution to sustainable growth, however, key for sustaining growth is to spread our presence and to deliver on what we promise we can so that both the partner and end user customer have the best experience both pre- and post-sales. We will also be upping our tempo in the services arena as a way of differentiating ourselves from our competition. Recent IDC retail sales data suggests Egypt will grow in 2015 compared to last year. We want our partners to get a slice of this growth.
What products are being lined up in 2015 and what can your Egypt-based retail and reseller partners expect from Quantum in the year ahead? They can expect to see attractive opportunities through our promotions and warranty, and other value adds we offer like after-sales service. In addition, they can look forward to the launch of Quantum’s own smartphone models in 2015, a move that will open up opportunities for their businesses.
What do you see as the major growth countries for Quantum products in 2015? I see that Quantum products will have more innovation in 2015 because the company is ambitious at trying out the latest technologies. I am positive Quantum will grow from strength to strength by providing quality products at affordable price points.
What challenges lie ahead for Quantum and its partners as global tablet sales are beginning to stagnate according to IDC and Gartner reports? The challenge is competition although generally speaking competition is healthy and benefits. A key concern is the price erosion that the market is witnessing in Egypt as companies striving to provide the best product at the lowest price. The Egyptian market is large and can absorb more actors especially players that can compete beyond just offering the cheapest product. We believe that Quantum is in the right position and will overcome these challenges.
What new channel programmes have you lined up for your retail and reseller partners in the Egypt We have exciting partner programmes that include rewarding our customers that are on our referral programme. We are also creating cross-selling opportunities based on past purchases and interests. The ultimate goal is to have the rights sales being generated for all our products.
