By Editor
Trigon continues to consolidate and expand its Business at a steady pace. The distributor recently signed as distributor for Dell and Acer. Arun Chawla, CEO at Trigon explains some of the plans ahead to focus on vertical units
The past couple of years have been among the toughest for distributors. How do you reckon Trigon has withstood the challenges?
We moved to a larger office during the tougher times a couple of years ago, located strategically, sending out a strong message that we are committed to the Business, market and the channel. We have new financial auditors, KPMG, SAP ERP and a new office. We are part of the reputed Al Ghurair group and have strong credentials and therefore looking forward to new challenges.
What do you see as growth areas of focus?
We will look to focus strongly on retail and the B2B Business. The channel Business will continue to grow at its pace but retail and the B2B Business could grow faster. We are looking at creating specialized Business units to drive Business into verticals.
Please elaborate on the vertical focus
For instance, today we are strong in healthcare Technologies with two Brands currently which are Ergotron and Elo. We are in a position to bring in more products that cater to this segment to strengthen our healthcare focus.
Since we have a huge focus on retail distribution, we may look into the feasibility of having sub Business units, catering to organized retail, hypermarkets and Consumer Electronics shops. The team running these sub-units are in sync with the behavioral dynamics and trends of those specific segments and can be more effective.
Similarly in B2B Business, we can have specialized vertical units with specialists with prior experience from these industries coming in to head these units and helping us grow our Business in sync with what the market needs. We can add products that are complementary to growing the Business.
We may also look at other opportunities like perhaps growing a unit focused on the displays Business. We have been strong in this domain and is a good opportunity to grow by bringing in related products.
When do you think this will take effect?
We are planning it out through 2014 and make sure we set up these vertical units up and running by the start of 2015. We are in the midst of efforts of giving a new look to the Distribution Business without losing any focus on our areas of core focus. We want to adopt a broader vision.
Discuss your focus on the Corporate Business?
We have our direct team as well as sell through the integrators. We work with partners to win tenders.
We have a compact team looking at corporate accounts and at the beginning of the year, we define certain major accounts across different verticals and we see how Business can be generated either directly or through partners. At the end of the day, the purpose is to generate Business out of these accounts.
Discuss your plans to expand to Saudi?
Saudi Arabia is a key market in the region and hold great promise. We plan to have a full-fledged sales office in Saudi Arabia like the one we already have in Bahrain. We are looking to capture market share in corporate B2B Business, retail and reseller Business in KSA.
Do you see retail distribution as a strong area?
Trigon was one of the earliest to demarcate based on market segments and have specialized teams for segments including retail. We have a good mix of products and there is a good portfolio for retail. We have a good relationships with leading retailers and have a team of merchandisers in conjunction with Brands we work for. We have had recognitions coming in from leading publications.