The roll-out of BenQ-Siemens branded cellular handsets will begin in SA from the beginning of next month, BenQ Mobile says.
The BenQ-Siemens brand is a result of BenQ`s acquisition of Siemens` mobile phones division in November last year.
The company will bring to market "a lot of competitive products that have the backing of the company`s many years of experience as an OEM partner for the likes of Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson," according to Najib Ashraf Kazi, the company`s VP of sales and marketing (mobile business), Middle East and Africa.
Kazi notes, as part of the purchase, BenQ acquired all the research and development as well as the factories and patents that belonged to Siemens Mobile.
"Siemens had expertise in GSM and GPRS technology and now coupled with our knowledge in 3G, the BenQ-Siemens brand will soon be the product of choice," he projects.
Kazi adds the company has developed a number of handsets with high-speed data package access (HSDPA) technology, which allows for video and TV streaming. He expects these to attract consumer interest during events like the upcoming Soccer World Cup in Germany.
Strategy
He explains the company`s strategy is not to rush at capturing a large chunk of South African market share but to concentrate first on making a profit from high-quality products targeting the mid- and high-end market.
"The problem with going the market share route is a lot of units have to move quickly and this is only possible if the market is flooded with many entry-level products. We don`t want to do that," he says.
According to Kazi, the now $13 billion company has increased its cellular handset business from 16% to 60% of its total business.
"Having taken over the Siemens Mobile business we have presence in 70 different markets," he notes.
The company says it will initially bring 27 handset models to the country and will distribute them through its local division, which is trading as BQS SA.
Kazi explains the old BenQ and Siemens handsets still selling under the individual brands should be phased out within the next six months. The company has a contract to dual brand its handsets (BenQ-Siemens) until 2009, with an option to renew the agreement thereafter, he says.
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