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| Loay
International LLC |
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| Making IT a
way of life in Oman |
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Loay International
LLC is one of the largest IT hardware distributor
and reseller in Oman. Apart from retailing brands
like Acer, Apple, Epson, Adobe and BenQ, Loay is
also the exclusive distributor of Sokkia Surveying
Instruments and dozens of stationery brands. SOKKIA
reportedly commands over 70% market share of Professional
GPS usage in Oman with Ministry of Housing, National
Survey Authority and major construction companies
having standardized their surveying equipment. Loay
has trained several major clients in the use of
GPS in their operations thereby saving time and
effort which has directly resulted in enhanced productivity.
The company is also involved in IT manpower placement,
and IT facilities Management.
Loay’s turnover in 2006 was OMR 5.5 million and
it has a staff strength of 115 personnel of whom
more than half (52%) are Omani citizens. Loay’s
major clients include ministries, government departments,
and the corporate sector, especially the small and
medium business segments.
Partnering with like minded companies Loay entered
into services business in the year 2001 and bagged
the first major contract from PDO to support their
IT infrastructure spread across the Sultanate. “For
five years running the Help Desk project has been
seen as an example of how 100% Omanisation can achieve
such high KPI with very strict SLA’s set by PDO.
Young Omani graduates employed in this project from
local and foreign universities have set a bench
mark that other contractors in PDO are asked to
emulate”, said Baltazar Fernandes, the General Manager
of Loay International who has been instrumental
in taking the company into computers & communication
business, ever since he came to the helm some years
ago.
Excerpts:
Could you tell us your experience
about the growth of information technology in Oman
and the resultant demand for PCs and hardware?
With the all round economic growth that Oman is
experiencing, IT is leading the pack as more and
more companies are automating their processes. Education
is also now heavily reliant on computers, thereby
resulting in the growing demand for PCs and peripherals.
What is the market penetration of PCs in Oman and
what would be your flagship brand Acer’s share in
various segments, like home, SMEs, government, etc?
Official sources claim the PCs cover about 30 -
35% of the total population, and Acer’s share is
estimated to be 23% of the branded computer business
in the Sultanate.
g What are the brands and products that you currently
distribute/resell in Oman?
Acer, Apple, Epson, BenQ, Adobe, Sokkia are some
of the brands we represent in Oman, apart from a
whole lot of stationery brands.
What is the USP of Loay International?
What is your retailing strategy?
We offer the customer a total experience and incredible
value for money on all our products and services.
Our customers come back to us again and again and
that surely speaks volumes for us.
What do you think are the
peculiarities of the Oman market? What are the challenges
for principal distributors and resellers like Loay
International?
Well, the competition in Oman market I would say
is heavily influenced by Dubai’s regional players
in as far as the retail business is concerned. There
are certain disadvantages reputed companies like
us face in the retail when it comes to selling original
software packages. The Authorities are trying hard
to weed out Software piracy and once this is achieved,
the competition will be on level terms.
Are exhibitions like Comex
effective for your business?
Yes, these exhibitions are definitely effective,
as it brings the customers and vendors offering
various brands and solutions under one roof to save
potential buyers time and money. And we are able
to sell volumes and offer very attractive deals
to the customers in the few days of the exhibition.
It’s also an opportunity for us to showcase the
latest technology and products.
Has Cyclone Gonu affected
on your business?
Yes our Al Araimi Complex showroom was completely
inundated and it will take another four months to
restart operations there.
But, there was a spurt in sales a week after Gonu,
owing to the fact that many companies and individuals
had lost their computers and had to replace their
machines.
Do you think in this day
and age of hypermarkets and mall shopping, having
standalone showrooms is a good idea especially for
IT hardware? Has your showroom traffic been affected
after the coming of malls in Oman?
In our experience, we feel there is potential for
both hypermarkets and standalone outlets as both
offer a different kind of buying experience to the
customer. We do not feel threatened by the hypermarkets,
as our strategy has been to make use of both the
marketing channels.
Our showroom traffic has not been affected, in fact
it is rapidly rising every day, as the country’s
population is also increasing, resulting in customers
settling for either of the sales channels.
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