The move to appoint iSpot follows Iomega’s recent distribution partnership with Kuwait-based distributor Al Babtain for that country.
The appointment of iSpot is in line with Iomega’s broader strategy of having in country distribution partners in the GCC region. According to Iomega, tl he plan to have in country distributors in the GCC aims to develop and strengthen the retail and dealer channel.
In terms of the deal which is effective immediately, iSpot will supply both the retail and dealer channels in Qatar with Iomega’s entire product (consumer and NAS) array in that country.
Mohammad Jweied, country manager at Iomega UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, says Iomega believes that its brand will be strengthened further in the channel if it has local distribution partners on the ground. Jweied says the company has decided to partner with local distributors to help develop and grow Iomega’s market share and brand awareness in the GCC and the entire Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
In addition, says Jweied, having local distributors on the ground in each of the GCC will give the company the opportunity to provide support (logistics and product warranty) to resellers and retailers better. “Having a distributor on the ground makes it easy for partners to access products easily and not have to wait for stock to be despatched from UAE-based distributors,” he says.
Aside from its strategy to have local in-country distribution partners, Iomega is also in the process of beefing up its resources and investing in additional people who will manage the B2B side and the traditional channel under the ioClub Premier Partner Programme umbrella. “We are aware of the rapid growth Iomega is experiencing both with its consumer and NAS range of products in the MENA region,” he says. “We believe that resellers in the region will be better served if there is a dedicated resource that manages the B2B side our operations and the partner programme.”
Jweied says having this additional resource will ensure that distributors and resellers receive all the benefits that are associated with being an ioClub Premeir partner.
Iomega is also planning to appoint distribution partners for Bahrain and Oman later in the second half of 2011.
NAS solutions and portable storage devices mainstay Iomega has appointed iSpot, a subsidiary of Ali Bin Ali Group, as its distributor for Qatar.
