Acer Inc. expects its business in southern Africa to show rapid growth, following the finalization of the distribution agreement for the region between itself and Case-Tarsus Ltd.
The international PC vendor expects to see its relationship with Case-Tarsus produce results in the rest of southern Africa that are as strong as its distribution agreement with Tarsus Technologies (Pty) Ltd. has achieved in this country.
Case-Tarsus will be aggressively targeting countries where it has established direct operations, including Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It will also look to sell into countries such as Angola, Malawi and Mozambique.
Said Gary de Menezes, channel director at Acer: “Acer around the world has experienced excellent results from its decision to move away from a direct sales and distribution model to a completely channel-centric approach.”
“In SA (South Africa), we have seen our notebook sales grow by 200 per cent, and we have moved into the number two position in that segment of the PC market since January, when we appointed Tarsus as our sole distributor for the country. We believe that the relationship with Tarsus’ sister company, Case-Tarsus, in the rest of southern Africa, will be similarly successful.”
Said Case-Tarsus MD, Tony Jordan, “Southern Africa offers both vendors and distributors a great deal of potential business, provided that they take the right approach to the market. At Case Tarsus we have staffed all of our offices with local people. We recognize the importance of providing a flexible business model that allows us to easily adapt our ICT solutions, invoicing procedures, transport and importation methods to the specific needs of each country.”
Jordan said that Acer’s decision to pursue a pure channel strategy for the region, rather than the hybrid model of direct and channel sales, that most hardware vendors have adapted will give the PC manufacturer a major competitive edge.
“Acer has also appointed a strong network of warranty service partners for the region, and left enough flexibility for Case-Tarsus to price the products competitively for each region,” he added.
“The market has been awaiting finalization of our appointment for some time. Now that it is a reality, and the model is clear, we expect a significant improvement in sales of the Acer brand, particularly in countries where activity has stagnated during the period of change,” concludes Jordan.
