CAIRO: Canon Middle East has outlined its IT channel strategy for Egypt and has unveiled its latest range of products for Egypt's System Integrators and Value Added Resellers (VAR). It comes as Egyptians continue to complain of the high costs of photography and IT products in the market. “It is very expensive to buy cameras and camera equipment here and most people look to find sources outside the country who will bring it into the country for much, much cheaper,” Dina Shokry, a local Egyptian photographer, told Bikya Masr. The Canon strategy, according to a press release from the company, “takes advantage of the country's growing IT expenditure that is expected to sustain a 12 percent CAGR to reach USD 2.1 billion by 2014 from USD 1.3 billion 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 partnerships with IT dealers & resellers by offering a feature packed new product line up, such as models with Arabic driver and 40ppm speed, designed to serve the needs of various groups, right from a home user to SMBs, which are the target clients of the company's channel partners. 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 in Cairo, Canon noted that Egypt is regarded as one of “Canon's top five focus 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,” it added. Anurag Agrawal, Managing Director, Canon Middle East, said, “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.” “We are working to increase Canon's visibility in major stores across Egypt, targeting over 100 outlets mainly through IT dealers and followed by Massmarkets and Power Retailers,” added Somesh Adukia, Sales Manager, Canon Middle East. Canon's latest line of products has been developed through extensive investment in research and development, as the company has allocated over 9 percent 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. As part of its commitment to the environment, Canon has recently launched a new range of ‘green' calculators in Egypt. The LS-8TCG, HS-1200TCG and TS-1200TCG calculators use 100 per cent recycled materials from used Canon copier machines for the front and back plastic covers. Packaging and instruction manuals are made from recycled paper to further cut down on waste. All products are dual-powered through solar energy and a replaceable battery. BM
