By Editor
Epson continues to have a strong performance in the KSA IT market, courtesy its strong distributor relationships and partner focus
Please discuss how the Saudi Market is growing for Epson across the products categories?
Saudi Arabia is a regional economic powerhouse and a key market for us. With the growing Government spend on IT infrastructure, education, SMEs and public sectors, we see a growing demand for our products. Saudi Arabia’s printing industry is the largest in the Gulf region with an annual turnover of US$ 800 million per annum. We have experienced steady growth in the Kingdom across all our product categories, especially video projectors and Ink Tank System printers.
Who are your distributors there? Are there separate distributors for printers and projectors?
Saudi Soft and Metra are our distributors in Saudi. We also have Samir Photography who is specialized in Epson’s Large Format Printers (LFP).
Elaborate on new product launches for Saudi market in printers and projectors.
We launched our A3 ITS printers few months ago in Saudi and it has been well received. We have also launched a wide range of projectors recently including interactive projectors with finger-touch option (like EB-595Wi, the world’s first 3LCD, touch enabled projector) and the latest series of Short-Throw projectors ideal for class-rooms and small meeting rooms.
We also have a wide range of Home Cinema projectors that are doing well in the Saudi market.
How often does Epson have workshops/ seminars for the channel partners there?
As part of Epson’s strategy, we do conduct regular seminars and roadshows for our partners in KSA as well as the region.
Do you plan to have any direct presence there in terms of on ground resource/ office etc?
Epson Middle East opened an office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2013, in line with our plans to strengthen market presence.
Do you have exclusive direct relationships with the power retailers or do they also source shipments from your distributors in KSA?
We do have good relationship with key power retailers in the Kingdom like Jareer Bookstore and Extra. However, their shipments and logistics are being managed through our authorized distributors in KSA.