Bassem Megahed, CEO of Raya Trading, a subsidiary of Raya Holding, said the company was negotiating with Telecom Egypt, the latest mobile operators in the Egyptian market and other mobile operators to discuss cooperation with them. He told Daily News Egypt that the company aims, through the negotiations, to provide instalment service for the four companies' clients through Raya outlets. The company is also looking at the mechanisms to be present within the branches of the mobile companies with which it is negotiating. This comes within the framework of the company's plan to boost sales during the coming period, especially with the decline in sales due to the weak purchasing power of the Egyptian consumer due to the liberalisation of the exchange rate and the inflationary wave that followed in prices. The domestic mobile market has seen a strong challenge since the exchange rate was floated in November 2016, as the market witnessed a surge in prices over the past few months. The decline in sales of mobile phones in Egypt registered 30% between January and September compared to same period in 2016, while experts say the market has been slowly recovering in the second quarter (Q2) of 2017. The drop in purchasing power caused a re-prioritisation to spend on basic needs of food, clothing, and drinks, moving them away from buying new phones. Raya Trading offers exclusive distribution services to some brands, such as Nokia, and other non-exclusive brands, such as Lenovo, as well as providing maintenance and sales services for a number of other strong brands in the mobile industry.
