The strategy takes advantage of the country’s growing IT expenditure that is expected to sustain a 12% compound annual growth rate to reach US$2.1 billion by 2014 from $1.3 billion in 2010, making Egypt one of the fastest growing IT economies in the world according to statistics from Business Monitor International.
Canon says that its IT channel strategy in Egypt will focus on empowering partnerships with IT dealers and resellers by offering a feature packed new product line up, such as models with Arabic driver and 40ppm speed, designed to serve the needs of various groups, right from a home user to SMBs, which are the target clients of the company’s channel partners. Additionally the vendor will develop dedicated incentive packages for the IT channel and offer increased Shubhak (display) activities, dedicated training programs thereby improving the toner sales/attachment ratio with the printer.
Canon states that Egypt is regarded as one of Canon’s top five focus markets in the Middle East. The aggressive economic reforms, sustained industrial growth and stability in the banking sector will serve as key growth catalysts and help generate long-term business opportunities in the country’s IT sector.
Anurag Agrawal, MD, Canon Middle East, says “Canon certainly remains strongly committed to Egypt and our IT channel strategy will greatly enhance our ability to cater to the distinct requirements of IT customers and business clients in the country.”
“We are working to increase Canon’s visibility in major stores across Egypt, targeting over 100 outlets mainly through IT dealers and followed by mass markets and power retailers,” adds Somesh Adukia, sales manager, Canon Middle East.
Canon’s latest line of products has been developed through extensive investment in research and development, as the company has allocated over 9% of annual sales in R&D activities over the past two years. Canon also took the opportunity to highlight its efforts to complement environmental and social-oriented initiatives in Egypt under its corporate philosophy of "kyosei" or living and working together for the common good.
As part of its commitment to the environment, Canon has recently launched a new range of ‘green’ calculators in Egypt. The LS-8TCG, HS-1200TCG and TS-1200TCG calculators use 100% recycled materials from used Canon copier machines for the front and back plastic covers. Packaging and instruction manuals are made from recycled paper to further cut down on waste. All products are dual-powered through solar energy and a replaceable battery.
Canon Middle East, a provider of imaging solutions for businesses and consumers has outlined its IT channel strategy for Egypt and unveiled its latest range of products for Egypt’s system integrators (SIs) and value added resellers (VARs).
