FMP, a subsidiary of UMG is dedicated to the distribution of Samsung mobiles and is working towards strengthening its leadership position across KSA’s burgeoning smart phone market through product promotions and critical value add services.
According to a recent report by analysts at Informa Telecoms and Media, the smart phone penetration rate in Saudi Arabia was 17.1% last year and is expected to grow to 25% this year and touch 44.8% by 2015.
Analysts believe that a combination of factors is driving the adoption of smart phones in the Arab kingdom. The increasing availability of broadband services in the region coupled with the strong demand for mobile internet by the country’s young population who use their phones to share media, engage over social networks, check email and browse the Internet is said to be boosting the markets for smart phones in KSA.
In order to leverage the growing interest in smart phones, while introducing significant value-added services to the market in KSA , the United Matbouli Group (UMG), the sole distributor of Samsung Electronics in KSA, felt there was need for a separate business unit that would focus on providing consumers with value-add around smart phone provision.
Shehab Rashad, commercial director at FMP Saudi Arabia says, “Consumer interests and behaviour have drastically changed from the humble beginning of mobile phones to the modern era of smart phones and tablets. Today, consumers don’t just use their phones to make calls, they use them to respond to emails, to browse the web, to share multimedia content and check into various social networks. It is these peculiarities in consumer demands that necessitates the need for a business like ours that not only introduces the latest innovations from the world’s leading smart phone manufacturer, Samsung, but also extends a host of other services to customers through a team of dedicated and experienced personnel who understand the technology and the consumer needs,” he adds.
FMP has a dedicated sister company for mobile maintenance services called TSM, which has 14 service points across KSA which also cover three major cities in the Kingdom including Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. It also has a host of state-of-the-art warehousing and distribution facilities across the cities of Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Mecca and Madinah that report a turnover of approximately 2 million mobile phones a year. FMP currently employs more than 180 people in Saudi Arabia alone who cover a broad range of services including after-sales, technical advisory and social media associations with end users.
Having witnessed an overwhelming demand for its services from the market, FMP is now revamping its strategy to go beyond its role as the leading distributor of Samsung mobiles.
“FMP has recently revamped its corporate identity to not only assert its position as the key distributor of Samsung mobile phones in Saudi Arabia, but to also inspire a sentiment of trust and value amongst its existing and potential customers. The FMP name today invokes strong brand recall across consumers in Saudi Arabia and our new brand personality is a representation of our ambitious growth plans and the immense value added benefits that we intend to provide to our valued customers in the future,” says Rashad.
The company is now working on enhancing its logistics services by moving to a new state of the art warehousing facility. In addition to this, FMP customers can also leverage the company’s Golden Warranty promotion to enjoy added benefits on the leading innovations from Samsung. “Under the new Golden Warranty promotion, customers will now be entitled to a two year warranty on their Samsung smart phones and tablets along with an assurance of repairs within one hour. In a first for Saudi Arabia, free insurance cover will be provided to consumers for their valued Samsung phones under the new promotion,” explains Rashad.
FMP is also working on launching its own e-commerce site. FMP predicts the online shopping will soon be hugely popular and hopes to capitalise on the trend with the launch of its own site. “FMP’s e-commerce platform is designed to be a user friendly yet aesthetically appealing tool that makes shopping for mobile phones and tablets for our consumers extremely convenient, cost effective and also bundled with many value added benefits. Customers can browse through the latest products, compare specifications and have the product delivered right to their doorstep, all from the comfort of their own homes,” he says.
With no intention of slowing down, Rashad says that the company is currently focusing on reaching out to the entire market in KSA and only once it has achieved this task will it move out to tap other emerging markets such as the UAE, Egypt and Qatar.
“The market in Saudi Arabia in evolving and the rapidly changing needs of the customers together with the increasing awareness associated with the leading products leads us to focus our attention on this market alone. We believe that a dedicated effort not only enables us to provision the right levels of expertise but also provides the best services we have to offer. The same goes for our product line up, we see no room for another brand. The huge demand for Samsung Electronics across the region keeps us on our toes. In addition we share a long term trust based relationship with the vendor who not supports our activities but also paves the way for more creativity and innovation,” he says. //
