ITE to develop Palm's brand presence

Dubai: Dubai-based product distributor ITE Distribution will now be responsible for developing US mobile computing company Palm's brand presence across the Middle East and South Africa (Mesa) after signing an independent marketing company agreement with Palm Europe yesterday.

ITE Distribution will expand its existing distribution agreement to include channel development and education, sales and marketing, brand product awareness programmes, customer and technical support and distribution.

Officials at Palm said the move is in reaction to the growing importance of the Middle East for its products, which includes the Treo smartphone, Palm handheld computers and various software products and accessories.

The region's share of business at Palm Europe Ltd, which supports Europe, Middle East and Africa, has leapt from four per cent to 7.5 per cent. The company expects the Mesa market to reach more than 1.5 million smart phones by 2010.

"Twelve months ago we appointed ITE as a master distributor for Palm in the region and now the relationship goes to a new level," said Tim Mahne, Palm's director of master distribution. "They are now our eyes and ears in this market."

Mahne said the agreement coincides with rapid growth in Middle East smartphone usage.

Palm officials highlighted the 30 million mobile subscribers in the Middle East and 150 million in Africa, claiming there is an opportunity to upgrade these users to messaging devices.

"We have seen the growth in the region in the last 12 months, but we want to grow faster," he said.

Palm will also open a full support centre in Dubai equipped with engineers and a support line. Previously, product repairs were handled by a centre in the Czech Republic, causing lengthy delivery times. A support centre will open in Johannesburg to cover the southern Africa region.

Recognising the importance of the Middle East for sales, Palm said Arabic versions of its products are launched at the same time as English models.

Revenues

Palm reported revenue for the full fiscal year 2007 at $1.56 billion, down one per cent from $1.58 billion reported in 2006.

Smartphone sell-through for the full year reached a company record high totalling 2.7 million units, up 34 per cent year over year. Smartphone revenue was $1.25 billion, up 15 per cent from the prior year.

The company expects revenue to be between $355 million and $365 million for the first quarter of 2008.

ITE is a 15-year-old distribution company headquartered in Dubai and representing companies including Logitech and Symantec.