Pitney Bowes eyes Middle East expansion

In line with increased commitment to the region, the company appointed a Regional Manager, Mohammed Irsan Khalil, for the Middle East earlier this year. Pitney Bowes currently counts national posts such as Jordan Post and Emirates Post as its key customers in this region.

Pitney Bowes also organized a Distributor Summit for the first time in the Middle East, a two-day event which commenced yesterday at the Kempinski Hotel (Dubai). Attracting delegates from eight distributor companies based in countries such as Bahrain, UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, the Summit provided an opportunity for participants to learn more about new products, as well as to gain a stronger understanding of the resources offered by Pitney Bowes.

Speaking at the Distributor Summit, Eric-Yves Mahe, President of Pitney Bowes for the Asia Pacific and Middle East region said, "The postal sector in the Middle East has a lot of untapped potential which is slowly being realized with its gradual liberalization. The large and growing population coupled with low computer penetration (20%) and internet penetration (28%) in GCC countries is also increasing demand for basic postal services. We see strong opportunity to work closely with companies in the postal as well as insurance and financial sectors in further expanding the usage of our Mailstream solutions and software technologies. Backed by our strong experience and successes in other markets, we believe we are well poised to help these companies effectively leverage our technologies to enhance their business efficiency and grow their businesses."

Pitney Bowes has been represented in the Middle East via distributors for more than 20 years. The company most recently announced the appointment of Technical Equipment & Sales Company (TESCO) as its official distributor in Jordan earlier this year.

Added Mahe:

"Establishing a direct presence here will enable us to collaborate more closely with channel partners and to expand out network, paving the way for further expansion and growth in this region. We have achieved a double-digit Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over the last four years in the Asia Pacific region and are confident to achieve similar growth rates in the Middle East."

Said Mr Ezzeldin Ahmad, Chairman of the National Technology Group (S.A.), "We are proud to have been representing Pitney Bowes, the market leader in the mailstream industry. They have been extremely supportive in terms of sharing knowledge and resources and we look forward to working more closely with them in introducing new mailstream products to the market in future."

Pitney Bowes employs more than 1,000 people in 11 countries and has a customer base of more than 100,000 large and SME businesses in the APME region. The regional headquarters for the APME region was established in Singapore in October 2007. The company targets to double revenue for the APME region within the next 3 years.