Asbis gains Lenovo rights in Saudi Arabia
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Sunday, 24 May 2009
Lenovo is looking to climb the PC rankings in Saudi Arabia after awarding local distribution rights to Asbis.
The PC vendor has a low market share in Saudi Arabia, but has begun putting more emphasis on the market since Khaled Kamel joined as regional boss last year, including the recruitment of in-country personnel.
Asbis confirmed it intends to take delivery of products for the Saudi channel shortly and will then begin the task of developing the brand among its customers.
Hesham Tantawi, VP MEA at Asbis, says the tie-up reinforces its strategy of adding finished products to its established components portfolio.
“It is an attractive proposition for us because in Saudi we are offering a one-stop-shop for our retailers and SMB customers,” he explained. “We are one of the few distributors who own their logistics in Saudi as well. We are not contracting a third party — we are doing our logistics by ourselves, which makes it easier for us to serve the market.”
Asbis will initially carry Lenovo’s commercial line-up of desktops and notebooks as the vendor hasn’t yet introduced its consumer range in the Middle East. It is thought to be scheduling the launch for the end of the year, when the retail market’s prospects are likely to be stronger.
Tantawi, meanwhile, insists that partnering with Lenovo in Saudi Arabia won’t take the focus off the existing brands that it carries. “This agreement doesn’t mean our business with Toshiba and Dell will be affected,” he said. “We are expecting a lot of additional growth on the [Lenovo] business.”
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