Canon Middle East outlines IT channel strategy in Egypt

The strategy takes advantage of the country's growing IT expenditure that is expected to sustain a 12% CAGR to reach $2.1bn by 2014 from $1.3bn in 2010, making Egypt one of the fastest growing IT economies in the world according to statistics from Business Monitor International.

Canon revealed that its IT channel strategy in Egypt will focus on empowering relationships with partners by offering feature packed new product line up like models with Arabic driver and 40ppm speed, especially designed for SMBs which are the target clients of IT Dealers. Additionally the company will develop dedicated incentive packages for the IT channel and offer increased Shubhak (display) activities, dedicated training programs thereby improving the toner sales/attachment ratio with the printer.

During the ceremony held at the Fairmont Heliopolis, Cairo, Canon noted that Egypt is regarded as one of Canon's five most profitable markets in the Middle East. The aggressive economic reforms, sustained industrial growth and stability in the banking sector will serve as key growth catalysts and help generate long-term business opportunities in the country's IT sector.

Anurag Agrawal, Managing Director, Canon Middle East, said: "We are working to increase Canon's visibility in major outlets across Egypt, targeting over 100 outlets mainly through Massmarkets, Power Retailers and IT dealer channels. We have also recently launched a partner development program called Essential Business Builder Program (EBBP) in Egypt. Canon certainly remains strongly committed to Egypt and our IT channel strategy will greatly enhance our ability to cater to the distinct requirements of IT customers and business clients in the country."

Canon's latest line of products has been developed through extensive investment in research and development, as the company has allocated over 9% of annual sales in R&D activities over the past two years. Canon also took the opportunity to highlight its efforts to complement environmental and social-oriented initiatives in Egypt under its corporate philosophy of "kyosei" or living and working together for the common good.

Environmental conservation has been an important management issue at Canon as the company has developed measures to ensure full compliance with international and local environmental standards from the product planning stage through to design, development, production, sales, use, recovery, and recycling of each product. Canon's ultimate goal has been to create environmentally conscious products that realise energy efficiency, resource efficiency, and eliminate the use of hazardous substances.