In a major coup for Rectron, Samsung Electronics has appointed the ICT distributor to distribute its entire line of information technology (IT) products across South Africa.
“Appointing Rectron has enabled Samsung to partner with a leading national IT distributor with a strong reputation and loyal reseller customer base,” says Rick Yoon, strategic director: IT/OA at Samsung Electronics.
“It gives the Samsung IT range tremendous exposure, and this means - together with Rectron's commitment in terms of sales, promotions and stock holding - the brand can only get stronger.”
“This is probably one of the most strategic moves Rectron has ever made since our appointment by Intel eight years ago, which placed Rectron in the dominant position in the components business,” said Werner Kuhn, peripherals business manager at Rectron.
“Samsung's strategic partnership will now help Rectron to grow and play an even greater role in South Africa's peripherals and notebook business than ever before.”
The two companies first partnered together when Rectron began distributing Samsung printers a year ago, followed by Samsung notebooks at the beginning of 2009.
The successes in these two markets led to the global multinational entrusting Rectron to expand its focus to incorporate other Samsung IT product segments, which now also includes Samsung LCD monitors and components.
“Rectron is well-established and has the financial, sales and logistics capacity to promote and stock the entire Samsung IT product line-up,” explained Yoon.
“There is also dedicated focus on building the Samsung brand within Rectron to the point where you have proactive selling taking place - not just order-taking.”
Increased sales, customer satisfaction
Yoon reports that Samsung's channel has responded very positively to Rectron's hands-on approach to distribution in the past 12 months: “A large number of Samsung resellers are long-standing customers of Rectron, and being able to access the full Samsung range from one distributor has resulted in increased sales and customer satisfaction,” he explains.
“With Rectron's aggressive marketing, resellers are also being continually informed of Samsung promotions and product information. This has resulted in growing more loyal Samsung resellers.”
According to Yoon, the growing partnership between the two companies can only bring positive results for the Samsung brand in the months and years moving forward.
“Rectron is a strong brand marketing distributor and is totally committed to building the Samsung IT range,” he adds. “This has translated into strong sales, product support and inventory investment. This bodes well for both Samsung and the IT industry's resellers and customers.”
Very ambitious
Rectron's Kuhn reiterates that while Samsung has other distributors, Rectron is the only distributor than can now distribute all Samsung IT products.
“As a very ambitious company, Samsung has established a great business model that proves if you want to be a winner, you don't always need to be the first to market,” he states.
“While Samsung is not an 'early bird' in the LCD panel, DRAM, flash, cellphone or the printer markets, it is now a clear market leader in all these categories.”
Kuhn believes this clearly indicates that Samsung has a unique and successful business culture, which allows it to be a leader in any business categories it wants to participate in.
“Most importantly, I see that the Samsung business fits naturally into the Rectron business model, and we certainly will take the Samsung business to the next level via such a strong partnership,” he concludes.
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