JEDDAH, 19 March 2005 — Samsung Electronics is targeting revenues of $3.5 billion in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region for the current year, it was announced here.
Maintaining its year-on-year growth of 30 percent, Samsung reported a remarkable performance in 2004, with annual sales revenues in the MEA region crossing $2.7 billion.
B. W. Lee, president and CEO, Samsung Middle East and Africa, said: “Samsung’s growth in the MEA region has been primarily led by its ability to successfully tap emerging markets as well as customers in developed ones with an extensive range of mobile phones, flat-panel displays and monitors. This year, we will continue to focus on major markets including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan to further increase our sales and market share.”
“Sales have been good in our store,” said Mahmoud Fawzi, a Samsung store manager in Jeddah. “I think what people like about our products is our maintenance service,” he told Arab News. In addition to the quality and range of product lines, Fawzi said that their competitive prices are a very attractive factor for customers. “Once a customer buys something from us and enjoys the product he tends to become a repeat customer and loyal to the brand,” he said. In his store, fridges, air conditioners and TV sets are the most sold items but he says that demand for products might differ from one store to another.
For 2005, Samsung has lined up a host of technologically advanced, first-of-its-kind digital products such as feature-powered PDAs, mobile phones, sophisticated software-enabled monitors, extensive line-up of flat-panel displays comprising LCDs and Plasma TVs, minimalist-design multifunction printers and sleek digital devices such as MP3 players and Digital Video Camcorders.
“We intend to fortify our leadership position based on a combination of innovative designs, cutting-edge technology and aggressive marketing. In 2004, Samsung unveiled an extensive range of award-winning, cutting-edge digital devices that wowed audiences across the region. This year we will continue to build on this unrivalled benchmark that we have established and empower customers with best-of-breed digital devices that will transform the face of digital entertainment in the region,” Lee said.
One of the key products that Samsung expects to lead the Middle East market will be its highly-acclaimed PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) phone, SGH-i700, which is scheduled to be launched by mid-2005. The phone was showcased along with a range of advanced mobile handsets and state-of-the-art digital products at the company’s “digital convergence” theme-inspired pavilion in GITEX last year.
