The Middle East and Africa (MEA) is small in comparison to Europe in revenue terms, but it is a promising territory where growth exceeds that of traditionally greener pastures, said Acer spokesmen at the supplier`s fifth annual global conference in Athens.
Despite continuing economic and political turmoil in the region, the majority of the world`s oil is from the Middle East, and governments are spending, said Emanuelle Accolla, Acer EMEA VP.
South Africa`s situation is complicated by a "very strong" currency, he added, saying this meant corporates were effectively reducing their investment as a result, but consumers were spending more.
"We have two hubs - one in Dubai and one in Johannesburg," he noted. "South and central Africa are served by Johannesburg, and North Africa and the Middle East from Dubai, but we will fulfil from where it makes sense, for instance from Europe to North Africa, or [notebooks from] China."
Part of the Johannesburg hub is a local assembly facility, which country manager David Drummond says has been established under the MB Tech banner.
Look back
Since 2002, Acer has grown six-fold in MEA. "Profit-after-tax remains stable and in line with the industry average," said Accolla.
Over that time, the vendor has improved its standing in desktops, from fifth to third. It consolidated its notebook and overall standing at third. In LCD monitors, considered a good complementary business to PCs, it holds the number two position in MEA and is number one in Europe.
Given the good performance in the region, Acer says it has the same global strategies for MEA as everywhere else, including a channel-only fulfilment model, selling a full range of products.
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