Acer - the world`s third largest PC manufacturer - has made an aggressive move to grow its share of the Zimbabwean PC market with the appointment of Mustek Zimbabwe as its exclusive distributor in the country.
Mustek Zimbabwe is a joint venture between Mustek Electronics Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean shareholders.
The company will distribute the entire range of Acer range including PCs, notebooks, servers, networking products and the peripherals, which include scanners, projectors and modems. It will also carry the Acer Power and the newly released Acer Veriton business range of PCs as well as the Acer Aspire for home users and small offices.
These products will be sourced from Acer`s South African-based operation.
"With Acer now having a continuous stock holding on the ground in Zimbabwe, market share is expected to grow significantly," says Gavin Bryant, MD Mustek Zimbabwe.
"Acer is already a known name in Zimbabwe and we will be looking to enhance the reputation it has here. Acer is more aggressive than other name brand PCs and, with its matched quality, we`re convinced it will quickly become first choice for PC users."
Mustek Zimbabwe, which is focused on the distribution of a broad range of IT products, including consumables, printers, UPS, networking products, PCs, notebooks, servers and components, has a network of some 1 200 dealers in the country ranging from multi-national companies to one-man businesses.
"We did not have a Tier One PC in our stable, so we saw our partnership with Acer as a logical step to increase sales in the corporate and high-end home and SME markets where branded, value-for-money quality ensure the peace of mind end uses are looking for today.
"As a company, we constantly seek ways to expand our business. Given the current depression of the Zimbabwean economy, the only way to grow is to acquire new product lines to generate added sales," he says.
The company currently employs 40 staff and is the dominant player in the IT distribution market in Zimbabwe, with a presence in all centres of the country.
"We are at a stage now where we have the infrastructure to handle a market-leading product like Acer - holding stock locally and having the staff to offer the after sales support Acer deserves.
"To support this, we`re planning an aggressive advertising campaign which will focus at creating further awareness among end users," Bryant adds.
Ronald d` Almeida, export manager, Acer in Africa says Acer sees Mustek Zimbabwe as the ideal company to partner with and drive the Acer brand further into Africa.
"Mustek Zimbabwe has an outstanding track record among the Zimbabwe channel and we will be working closely with them to continue developing the excellent relationships they enjoy in the field.
"We believe the combination of Acer`s affordable quality and reliability with Mustek`s support infrastructure will be an unbeatable proposition in this market," d`Almeida concludes.
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