Middle East business growth in Toshiba Computer Systems is running at more than three times the industry average for producers of mobile computers, in findings released by IDC, the independent market research specialist. During the last 12 months, Middle East sales of Toshiba mobile computers have grown 240 percent, while the average increase in the industry, as a whole, was 70 percent.
Toshiba also remains the market leader in the Europe Middle East and Africa region with a 13 percent unit share of the sales for mobile computers, according to Dataquest, up from 12 percent at June 30, last year. Toshiba’s leadership is 1.6 percent higher than its nearest competitor and higher than the mobile computer market growth.
Willem Poterman, general manager of Toshiba’s Europe, Middle East, Africa Computer Marketing Division, attributed the growth in sales to a range of factors based on a new product line. “We introduced several highly successful new mobile computers in 2001 and 2002 and supported these with a highly focused marketing strategy, based on active expansion of our distribution channels,” he said, addressing a press conference in Dubai.
“This strategy has involved the segmentation of the market along business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) lines, while applying application-oriented marketing. We have also introduced three-year international warranty on all products, the only manufacturer to do so in this region.”
“A key factor has been the shortening of the supply chain by sourcing products direct from Toshiba’s factory in Germany for entry into the Middle East region,” said Ahmed Khalil, Toshiba Computer Systems’ Middle East sales and marketing manager. “We have also appointed new distributors in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, which have strengthened our presence in the nine-country Middle East market.”
“We will expand our operations in countries such as Qatar and Bahrain while continuing to strengthen our presence in other markets, “ said Ahmed Khalil. “We plan to introduce a Toshiba Computer Systems website for the Middle East division, as well as to localize Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) applications and to introduce the Tablet PC in conjunction with Microsoft.”
Toshiba will launch other new products to the region, with the venue for the introduction of these being Gitex, to be held in Dubai, October 13-17, 2002. Among the new Toshiba offerings at this show will be entry-level Satellite notebooks and solution offerings for the education sector.Toshiba will also launch its first high-end notebook with the newest graphics chip available, which features a brand new optical disc technology.
The Computer Systems Division of Toshiba Europe GmbH is an international vendor for mobile computing solutions. In addition to notebooks, the company offers servers in Europe, Middle East and Africa under the Toshiba brand name. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, the Computer Systems Division of Toshiba Europe GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Toshiba Corporation, the world’s eighth-largest computer and electronics company.
The Japanese Toshiba Corporation manufactures information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products and power systems. Toshiba has more than 176,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of over $40 billion (2001). — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
