Leading consumer tech retail distributors are participating at this week’s DISTREE Middle East to showcase their portfolios to hundreds of senior retail channel executives.
Dubai-based Gearkom, which has now been operating for six years, will pre-schedule one-on-one meetings with retail and and e-tail executives at the event. Gearkom currently represents four brands in the region: Aiino, HyperX, Rivacase and Sandberg.
Kripanand Sreenivas, managing director at Gearkom, said: “We’re focused on IT accessories and always looking at how best to develop our portfolio. Exhibiting at DISTREE Middle East gives us an opportunity to meet our existing retail partners as well as potential new partners.”
Gearkom currently sells through both physical retailers and e-tailers. The company believes there is potential for both offline and online channels to thrive in the Middle East. Sreenivas explained, “People still love the experience of visiting the malls. It is a pleasant environment so there will be a role for some physical retailers in the future as e-commerce develops.”
For Gearkom, its team of dedicated in-store merchandisers are vital to the success of its UAE operation. The distributor has 15 merchandisers working in key retail partners such as Carrefour to drive product sellout.
“Retailers stock our products, but we play a key role in helping them drive sellout. By using merchandisers, it also makes our sellout more predictable,” added Sreenivas. Gearkom is also growing its e-commerce channel network and working with a number of e-tailers, many of whom are attending next month’s DISTREE Middle East.
“We work with Wadi, JadoPado, Souq, LetsTango and Whoopey for example,” added Sreenivas. “We plan to start working with Noon too. We set very clear retail policies and we do not mess with pricing to ensure online and offline models can co-exist.”
Gearkom currently makes 65% of its sales inside the UAE and 35% in other Middle East markets. The company has appointed staff in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to drive sales in these countries.
“In Saudi Arabia, we are working with retailers such as iStyle, Lulu, Alghanim and Jarir,” added Sreenivas. “Gearkom’s sales are growing at more than 20% year-on-year and we now employ just under 30 people and two warehouses – one in Jebel Ali and one in Ajman.”
“We’re excited to meet all the retailers attending DISTREE Middle East, including the retailers coming from Africa to this year’s event. The products we distribute are currently stocked in about 320 retail outlets, with 160 of these in the UAE,” Sreenivas concluded.
