The following are excerpts:
SanDisk designs, develops, manufactures and markets flash storage products for a wide variety of electronic systems and digital devices. With flash memory’s capability for storing large amounts of data in a compact, removable or embedded format, SanDisk’s products have helped drive the exponential growth in sales of digital cameras, multi-function mobile phones, USB flash drives, digital audio/video players, and other digital consumer devices. SanDisk is the only company that has rights to manufacture and sell every major flash card format, including: CompactFlash (CF), SD, miniSD, microSD, MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick PRO and other Memory Stick products, xD-Picture Card and USB flash drives. The company receives a majority of its flash storage card product revenues from sales to retailers, with the balance coming from sales to OEMs. SanDisk is focused primarily on five digital consumer markets: digital cameras, mobile phones, USB flash drives, MP3 players and gaming. These markets are currently experiencing significant growth.
The biggest growth markets for SanDisk in the Middle East are Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and in Africa, Nigeria and Egypt. In the Kingdom, our unit sales have grown by 38 percent year on year 2009 to 2010. The first quarter of 2011, however, saw a huge uplift as compared to the same period in 2010 where unit sales grew by 509 percent. To add to this growth and reinforce our commitment to the Saudi market, we appointed Binoi Verghese as national account manager in the country. Varghese, along with Ahmed Abdulwahed Trading Company, SanDisk’s distributor, will work to bolster our retail presence and grow market share over the coming period. As the largest market in the GCC, we’ve intensified our presence and market development efforts in Saudi Arabia over the past few years, and are now starting to reap the benefits of growth in the market. Our partnership with Ahmed Abdulwahed Trading and their extensive retail and dealer network has increased our product footprint across the country. According to reports, Saudi Arabia’s consumer electronics market is forecast to grow to SR15 billion ($4 billion) in 2011 and SR18.37 billion by 2015. Demand for our products are growing significantly and our innovative product range fits well to meet that demand. Strong growth in the consumer electronics sector coupled with our strong and established presence in the Kingdom, will drive SanDisk’s brand in the market. SanDisk’s leadership position in the flash memory market today is the product of years of investment in our channel partners and the market as a whole. We look forward to continuing our growth efforts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with our partners to provide our customers with the best in flash memory products.
SanDisk has been in the Turkish market since 2001. SanDisk works with four distributors in Turkey and recently signed on the Telpa Group that distributes products through a widespread distribution network of 3,500 dealers and 6,200 retail shops. Telpa focuses on the mobile product market and owns a well-established online B2B platform, one of the strongest in the country. Our partnership with Telpa has expanded our product reach in Turkey to be more readily available to a wider market through strong distribution networks and market presence.
The SanDisk 19-nanometer (nm) technology, the most advanced memory process technology node in the world. This latest technology enables SanDisk to produce embedded and removable storage devices with the high capacities and small form factors used in mobile phones, tablet computers and other devices. The latest milestone is also the SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash card features 128 gigabytes (GB)1 of storage and up to 100 megabyte per second (MB/sec)2 write speeds. With its Power Core(r) controller and UDMA-7 interface, the card delivers the performance demanded by high-end DSLR cameras. SanDisk also offers encryption and online backup features across almost its entire retail USB portfolio. SanDisk SecureAccess software protects files against unauthorized access by creating an encrypted, password-protected folder or "vault" on the USBdrive. The software also includes up to 2 gigabytes (GB) of secure online backup storage. The USB product portfolio is also being expanded with new colors in the Cruzer Edge range and the Cruzer range to meet the needs of a broad set of customers. The SanDisk UltraUSB flash drive features faster transfer rates and the SanDisk Cruzer Edge USB drive offers easy portability.
SanDisk is constantly investing in marketing and supporting our partners and end users in the region. SanDisk runs promotions and retail campaigns consistently and across markets in the Middle East and Africa to make sure that the products are always in good demand. SanDisk is always looking for creative ideas to reach markets based on regional and country wide nuances to show consumers that we their needs, and our channel partners that we support the growth of their business. SanDisk is always looking to expand and enhance markets in the region, which includes the Middle East, the Eastern region of the Mediterranean and Africa. Since we have secured markets in the GCC and Turkey, Lebanon and South Africa, we are now looking to develop closer relations with countries such as Egypt and the entire African continent. In Egypt, we have accelerated our market penetration and are now in the process of assigning dedicated resources locally in Egypt.
