Subscribe

Toshiba renews South African strategy

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 28 Mar 2017
Ronald Ravel, director of B2B at Toshiba SA.
Ronald Ravel, director of B2B at Toshiba SA.

Japanese tech company Toshiba has renewed its strategy for the South African market: the business-to-business (B2B) PC device segment.

The company says it will concentrate its efforts on the government, higher education and wider public sector in SA.

Although the PC market has been in decline for several years as more consumers have opted for phones and tablets over traditional desktops and laptops, Toshiba says the B2B PC business is growing.

Toshiba says it is responsible for a number of Japanese firsts, including radar (1912), the TAC digital computer (1954), transistor television and microwave oven (1959), colour video phone (1971), Japanese word processor (1978), MRI system (1982), laptop personal computer (1986), DVD (1995), the Libretto sub-notebook personal computer (1996) and HD DVD (2005).

According to market analyst firm Gartner, worldwide PC shipments totalled 72.6 million units in the fourth quarter of 2016, a 3.7% decline from the fourth quarter of 2015. For the year, 2016 PC shipments totalled 269.7 million units, a 6.2% decline from 2015. PC shipments have declined annually since 2012, Gartner notes.

The leaders in the market are Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus, Apple and Acer respectively, says Gartner.

"With over 30 years' heritage in the business device market, solving business challenges and driving efficiencies is in our DNA," says Ronald Ravel, director of B2B at Toshiba SA.

"We have been present in the South African market for several years, providing advanced technological solutions through our PC offerings. Our renewed focus is to grow our presence in SA substantially, ensure we are seen as a leading B2B PC business, and put ourselves in the best possible position to thrive in a competitive sector. Our strong in-country partnership plays a vital role in ensuring the end-user has access to our product solutions."

Toshiba has adopted a B2B distribution strategy with Mustek, one of the largest assembler and distributors of PCs and complementary ICT products in SA.

"We believe the investments we are making across EMEA are creating strong conditions for growing our PC business in our core regions and sectors," adds Ravel. "We're confident in the strength of our renewed strategy and are aiming for continued growth across SA."

"We're honoured to be part of Toshiba's renewed B2B strategy, a brand that is very well-known and respected in SA," notes Kirk Toweel, Toshiba product manager at Mustek.

Share