High-flying Toshiba mobile computers soar up the Saudi sales charts

Less than three years ago, Toshiba barely featured in the Saudi market and even at the end of the third quarter last year had only a 16.8 per cent share.

Latest official figures from IDC - the independent market research specialist - show that Toshiba's 5,165 unit sales were up 151 per cent on the same period last year, compared with market growth of 63.5 per cent.

Market share has grown from 16.8 per cent to 26 per cent, while the market leader declined from 61.6 to 30.7 per cent.

The company's phenomenal growth was first triggered by a decision to focus on the Middle East as a prime growth market, according to Ahmed Khalil, regional manager of Toshiba's Middle East computer systems division.

Control of the region was shifted from Singapore to the company's European headquarters in Germany, thus shortening the supply chain and moving closer to customers.

Since then, Toshiba's total Middle East market share has soared from barely double figures, firmly establishing the brand in the number two position and rapidly closing in on the market leader.

Khalil attributes Toshiba's rapid growth in Saudi Arabia to its excellent working relationships with distribution partners Jarir Bookstore and Arabian Business Machines.

Jarir concentrates on retail distribution while ABM is responsible for major accounts and servicing the small to medium business sector, backed by a strong technical support capability.

'Our market segmentation, client service, and product support strategies are proving very successful as is borne out by the latest sales figures,' says Khalil.

'Our mobile computers have proven technological superiority, and with Jarir and ABM's commitment we have the ideal combination to meet the needs of the Saudi Arabian market.'

Growth has been across the board, he said, from small and medium businesses to corporate customers and home users. 'We also identified the education sector as a key growth area and this is now yielding results as prospective customers complete product evaluation and testing and begin to place orders with us.'

Toshiba's wide product range - from entry level to high-end professional - has also been a decisive growth factor, according to Khalil, along with Toshiba's exclusive carry a three-year warranty, an assurance of quality that significantly influences purchasing decisions and creates a huge competitive advantage.
'We have a mobile computer to suit everyone's needs or budget,' he says, 'and we expect continued growth due to our Centrino-based mobile technology that is driving the sales of products such as our second generation Tablet PC, the M200.

'Add our across-the-range mobility features like wireless accessibility, higher storage capacity, and longer battery life, and the reasons for the growing popularity of Toshiba mobile computers are obvious.'