HOME Souq.com opens service centre in Dubai
Middle East e-tailer and online marketplace Souq.com has whipped the covers off its first customer experience centre, located on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. The move to open a physical space highlights the complexities of new omnichannel supply models embracing both offline and online. Souq.com claims that the new facility will make life more convenient for customers as well as sellers across the UAE.
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Al-Futtaim refreshes Aftron brand
UAE-based Al-Futtaim’s consumer electronics brand Aftron has been relaunched after a complete rebrand and supply chain restructure. The company hopes it can double Aftron sales across several categories during the next 12 months. Aftron, which has been in the UAE market for more than 23 years, now has more than 150 SKUs spanning air-conditioning, white goods and other household electronics, along with a completely new look.
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Jarir Bookstore opens new store in Medina
Saudi Arabian tech retail giant Jarir Bookstore recently opened a new showroom in Medina, taking its store network inside the Kingdom to 39. Jarir’s total store network now numbers 47, including its outlets outside of Saudi Arabia. The new Medina showroom on King Abdullah Road spans more than 4000 square metres. Jarir Bookstore invested more than US$16m in its latest outlet. More than 60% of the staff employed at the new store are Saudi Arabian.
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Mobile growth continues in MEA markets
Research company Counterpoint reckons that mobile handset shipments in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region were up 16% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2016. Smartphones represented 80% of the handset shipments in the region. The MEA region accounted for 14% of total global shipments in the fourth quarter of 2016. In comparison, China and India combined accounted for 37% of global handset shipments, according to Counterpoint.
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XTOUCH recognises Redington’s role
Consumer electronics brand XTOUCH has named Middle East and Africa distribution giant Redington as its best strategic partner of the year for 2016. XTOUCH recognised Redington for its outstanding contribution it has made towards the growth of XTOUCH brand in the region. Since 2013, the two companies have been working closely to build XTOUCH’s brand in the smartphone market and increase market share.
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Mitsumi adds HP supplies rights in Middle East
Mitsumi Distribution, a major IT, consumer electronics and telecoms distributor in the Middle East and Africa, has been appointed by HP Middle East as an authorised HP supplies distributor for the Middle East region. HP and Mitsumi already have a well-established alliance of 6 years. This agreement further extends Mitsumi’s East African distribution rights to also include the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, and Yemen.
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DISTREE Middle East moves to Dubai for 2017 event
DISTREE Middle East 2017 will take place on the 8-10th May at the Meydan Hotel in Dubai, UAE. The three-day channel event unites consumer technology brands and distributors with senior executives and buyers from the region’s leading retailers and e-tailers. Exhibitors pre-schedule one-on-one meetings with retailers and e-tailers attending the event, enabling them to target specific markets or channels for their product portfolio.
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Wistiki to expand channel reach in EMEA
France-based Wistiki has established a strong position in the market for trackers. The company’s key tracker will soon be joined by trackers for pets and even your wallet. Positioned as a premium tracker brand with an emphasis on high-quality design, Wistiki has achieved significant success in several countries around the world. Wistiki is now ready to expand into new markets and is attending DISTREE EMEA in Monaco this month to identify new distributors that can expand the brand’s geographic reach.
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TP-Link adds smartphone distributor in Oman
Networking and mobile device vendor TP-Link has appointed Sale International in Oman as a distributor for its Neffos smartphone portfolio. TP-Link claims that the appointment of Sale International will allow it to accelerate its channel development within Oman. Lucas Jiang, general manager, TP-Link Middle East and Africa (MEA), said: “Sale is one of the largest telecoms focused distributors in Oman and the wider Middle East.”
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TP-Link to recruit systems integrators for SMB channel push
TP-Link, a provider of SOHO, SMB networking products, wireless LAN solutions and mobile devices, has started recruiting systems integrators (SIs) for its recently unveiled SMB portfolio of products in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. The SI recruitment drive is aimed at helping TP-Link and its channel ecosystem across the region target small businesses in specific market verticals in the region.
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