MERLION Business Channel. Doing Our Best for the South

On March 24 and 25 there was the first MERLION Business Channel regional forum aimed at MERLION current and potential partners from the South. The slogan of the forum read, ‘Together we will make a profit’.

MERLION Business Channel (MBC) is a new formula of partnership activities the company is going to pursue in various regions of Russia this year. The new partnership format suggests a great number of individual meetings that make it possible for dealers to tackle successfully the key partnership issues at all levels. It will also enable MERLION and vendors to develop a better understanding of partners’ needs and quickly react to the changes in the local market.

The key goals of MBC in Krasnodar were to enhance the partnership and ensure a further growth of business with computer companies based in the southern federal district.

In his opening speech, Mr. Igor Petrov, CEO of MERLION, reported about the company performance in 2005 and emphasized the strategic issues in 2006, “Our company continues to grow, create new opportunities and enter fast-growing profitable market segments. To boost MERLION market share in the partners’ portfolio of products will be the main goal in the upcoming year. This is the reason why we are looking for new suppliers, enhancing the quality of customer service and developing more efficient credit schemes. In this sales strategy every sales manager will be responsible for the customer’s success or good performance”.

Mr. Nikolai Orlov, Commercial Director of MERLION-Elsie sales office, responsible for the partnership in the South, emphasized the paramount importance of southern Russia in the growth of the business. According to MERLION, today the market share of the company in the region amounts to approximately 15%. However, the company resources and opportunities the partners enjoy can make it rise dramatically.

Today, the MERLION offering covers all areas of IT–business. The POSITRONICA project makes it possible for companies to diversify their businesses. MERLION offers regional PC-assemblers ready-to-use, compatibility tested tools suite to assemble a PC. MERLION System Solutions, department for project supplies, provides sales support for corporate customers. The distributor offers a wide variety of IT-products, including some exclusive offers.

Monitors, desktops, digital photo and video remain the key product categories in the product range of MERLION. The specialists of the company told the partners about the structure of each product category, the key players’ interests and main trends in the development of products within theses categories.

MERLION suppliers welcomed the new format of collaboration with dealers. Leading computer and digital technology manufacturers made their presentations, thus, the company partners could really appreciate the wide product range of MERLION. The forum was attended by the officials of such companies as ATI, BenQ (monitors and desktops), Canon (office equipment, digital photo and video), Foxconn, IPPON, Jetbalance, Oklick, ProCurve Networking by HP, Sapphire, and Western Digital.

The two-day forum had a busy schedule. MERLION, MERLION System Solutions, the POSITRONICA project representatives as well as vendors had individual meetings with the officials of southern regional computer companies.

The first regional forum was attended by ninety representatives from fifty two companies based in eighteen cities of the southern federal region altogether. That included Astrakhan’, Vladikavkaz, Volgograd, Krasnodar, Maykop, Makhachkala, Mozdok, Novorosysk, Paytigorsk, Rostov-na-Donu, Taganrog etc. In the future, such forums will be also held in the other regions of Russia.