National Store, the flagship company of JK Group, has announced its partnership with French smartphone brand, Wiko, to act as the exclusive distributor for the brand in the UAE market.
As part of the partnership, National Store will carry out the ground sales and distribution operations for Wiko across all its outlets in the UAE. This will assist the brand in its country-wide expansion as well as in further strengthening its visibility.
Having registered its presence in more than 30 countries across the world within a very short span of time, Wiko entered the top 5 in Western Europe in 2016. In France, it is in the number 2 position1 in the open market and is also largely successful in other European markets, it has even managed to climb to 2nd position. The mobile phone brand has shipped out more than 10 million phones globally in 2016, with more than 15 million users worldwide.
Salah Khoory, General Manager, National Store– Jk Group, said, “Partnering with Wiko is a part of National Store’s future strategy to diversify the business of the company, while creating a strong base in the mobile and IT category. Wiko is a young and fresh brand with a lot of potential which will add a strong new category to the company’s portfolio. The brand is already very well presented in the individual retail channel. Therefore, our aim is to further fortify its visibility in this segment and then move into increasing its presence through power retailers”.
As distributors and retailers, National Store has had a successful run for almost half a century showcasing brands such as Canon, Sandisk, Moser, Crown Line, KZEN and GP Batteries, among others. The company launched an outlet in Khalidyah Mall, Abu Dhabi, last year, and has a number of expansion plans in the future.
Explaining the retail philosophy of the brand, Kashif Siddiqui, Head of Sales Wiko, UAE, said “We believe in maintaining the right balance in the pricing and product mix to avoid major fluctuations in pricing during the product’s life cycle, thus giving stability to both retailers and consumers. In the UAE, Wiko has succeeded to position itself as a challenger brand, which combines the product and service quality of any top brand in this market, and keeps the prices as competitive as smaller brands. It thus manages to hold a distinctive position between the top brands and tier 2 brands and is seen by customers as a real “Value for Money” brand.
“With this partnership, we aim to strengthen the brand’s presence in the independent retail market, as this market provides better reach and returns with less investments. Wiko has worked with nearly all the power retailers in the UAE and is keen on re-entering the Power retail segment with its new range of 4G phones equipped with the latest technologies and is already in discussions with the top power retailers. Soon, consumers will start seeing Wiko on the shelves of power retailers,” added Siddiqui.
Besides the 3G and feature phones offered by the mobile company, National Store will be showcasing the latest range of Wiko smartphones, including Highway Pure, one of the world’s slimmest and lightest 4G phone, and Wiko-Fever, a glow in the dark phone. The distributors will also market accessories, such as WiSHAKE, both the wireless and wired headphones, earphones, Bluetooth speakers; WiMATE Smartband; car chargers; power banks; among other products.
