Channel Post speaks to Malek Foudi, the Head of Purchasing at Groupe Carrefour Informatique, about the IT trends in the region.
What trends have you seen in the regional IT and consumer electronics market?
Consumer demand for portable consumer electronics is strong and increasing rapidly. A Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4 percent in volume sales of portable consumer electronics over 2011-2016 is significant. Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Egypt are the main three countries driving this growth for the region. However, there exist many opportunities for future growth in the less developed economies, and there are indications that the growth rate will increase rapidly in the nearest future.
How important is an event such as DISTREE for your overall regional strategy?
Benefits of DISTREE ME event are globally and well profiling examples of business connection, market strength, pride and highlighting international consumer electronics. This is important since the event can act as a catalyst for industry vibrancy, business growth, and branding appeal.
DISTREE is a growing, hosting authentic and successful event, and the high percentage of respondents in consumer industry indicate that the event is extremely or very important to the future of the region. Due to its importance of DISTREE, an integrated strategy is now required to chart participants and suppliers future place, to ensure continued success. Through implementation of their strategies, the goal is to gain an increase in the number of high quality, professionally managed event which are true to the region’s story, celebrate community and generate positive economic activity and benefits.
What factors according to you are driving the IT and CE market in the region?
The leaders of successful companies seem to have grasped two important factors about the global economy. First, geographic, and other distinctions haven’t been submerged by the rising tide of globalization; in fact, such distinctions are arguably increasing in importance. Second, regionally focused strategies are not just a halfway house between local (country-focused) and global strategies but a discrete family of strategies that, used in conjunction with local and global initiatives, can significantly boost a company’s performance.
Which industry sectors are the most upcoming for the kind of solutions and products you deal in?
Smartphones business heads the market as it dominates sales. The retail volume of mobile phones is far ahead of other portable consumer electronics, such as portable music players, wearable electronics, and imaging devices. This is due not only to rising disposable incomes but also because of internet availability, decrease on internet connection prices and better quality coverage.
Which countries in the region are the most upcoming in terms of speeds in the region?
Economic activity in the Middle East and Africa started the year 2017 on a mixed note as non-oil activities remained strong. Which is reverberating positively across the MEA region. Moreover, higher oil prices are taking some pressure off the domestic financial markets, sending interest rates lower and stimulating private activity.
To help paint a picture of the economic drivers for performance that contribute to the overall health of the regional electronics supply chain, we can expect important contribution from KSA, UAE, Iran, Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, and Senegal. Those countries which have diversified their economies, focused on business diversity, and promoted industrialization will be best poised to overcome the current challenges and succeed in 2017.
How important is Africa for your overall business and channel strategy?
For consumer-goods companies, Africa holds much promise—but also many pitfalls. To succeed on the continent, companies must learn from the failures and successes of others. Over the past few years, business leaders and investors have become increasingly aware of the vast potential in Africa’s burgeoning consumer market. The continent, now home to more than 1.1 billion people.
The working-age population in Africa is growing at a clip of 2.7 percent each year (compared with 1.3 percent in Latin America and 1.2 percent in Southeast Asia). This massive expansion of the consumer pool will help fuel the continent’s GDP growth from 4.9 percent today to 6.2 percent in the next decade, far outpacing the global GDP growth rate of 3.7 percent.
What’s more, African consumers are young and willing to spend. Fifty-three percent of income earners in Africa are between 16 and 34 years old, an age group that tends to be more aware of and eager to try new products. These consumers will contribute to more than $400 billion in total consumption growth in the next decade.
