ASBIS’s Prestigio becomes number one GPS brand in FSU and CEE countries
Limassol, January 20th 2012
Almost half million GPS devices and more than 150,000 tablets and e-book readers sold in 2011. Further growth expected in 2012
ASBISc Enterprises Plc, a leading distributor of IT products in emerging markets of Europe, Middle East and Africa, had significantly strengthen up its position in the F.S.U. and CEE countries in 2011 by selling increased number of devices under own brands. Prestigio gained number one position with a market share of 14% in CEE and CIS region has been affirmed by GfK, the leading market research institute. According to GfK Retail and Technology research as of year 2011 results, major sales and highest market share was in Russia and Ukraine.
The Company sold more than 450,000 GPS Prestigio navigators and more than 150,000 units of Prestigio Multi-pad tablets and E-book readers during 2011. The growing numbers confirms that the Company’s strategy of strengthening its private label products is working, and it is expected to capitalize more successes in the future.
– We consider increase of own brands sales, especially in such big and demanding market as the F.S.U. and CEE countries, as a great success of our organization. Among all, in 2011 we were the leading supplier in GPS decives, tablets and E-book readers in the market where PC penetration is still much lower than the Western European countries. This confirms both the quality of our products and effectiveness of marketing strategy. It is especially important as the own brands we have – Prestigio and Canyon – traditionally allows us to generate higher gross profit margins, than it is in case of other products, and sometimes it exceeds 20%. This of course has vital meaning for our profits. Our intention for 2012 is to further develop own brands sales, in all geographies we are present, – commented Siarhei Kostevitch, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at ASBISc Enterprises Plc.
Currently ASBISc confirms that the own brands sales relates to about 6% of the Company’s total sales.
– Our intention is to increase this share to about 10% in a couple of years. However, pace of this transition will depend also on the pace of growth in other segments. What is the most important here are growing profits from this segment. With significantly higher gross profit margin, own brands have already won a vital position in our consolidated profits. – commented Siarhei Kostevitch, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at ASBISc Enterprises Plc.
For 2012 ASBISc plans to further develop own brands division.
– We will focus mostly onto further upgrade our product portfolio and add some more market hot demanded products. We plan to increase sales of own brands in CEE counties, beginning from Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic, as these countries may happily welcome our good quality devices at attractive prices. – commented Siarhei Kostevitch, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at ASBISc Enterprises Plc.
For additional information, please contact:
Mr Daniel Kordel, ASBISc Enterprises PLC, Investor Relations
Tel. +00 357 99 633 793
Tel. +48 509 020 021
E-mail: d.kordel@asbis.com
Mr Costas Tziamalis, ASBISc Enterprises PLC, Investor Relations
Tel. +00 357 25 857 000
E-mail costas@asbis.com
Mrs.Iwona Mojuszko M+G
Tel. +48 22 625 71 40
Tel. +48 501 183 386
E-mail: iwona.mojsiuszko@mplusg.com.pl
ASBISc Enterprises Plc is based in Cyprus and specializes in the distribution of computer hardware and software, mobile solutions, IT components and peripherals, and a wide range of IT products and digital equipment. Established in 1990, the Company has a presence in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and North Africa, selling to 75 countries worldwide.
The Group distributes products of many vendors and manufactures and sells private-label products: Prestigio (external storage, leather-coated USB accessories, GPS devices, etc.) and Canyon (MP3 players, networking products and other peripheral devices).
ASBIS has subsidiaries in 26 countries, more than 1,000 employees and 32,000 customers.
The Company’s stock has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since October 2007 under the ticker symbol “ASB” (ASBIS).
For more information, visit also the company's website at www.asbis.com or investor.asbis.com