Andy Yuen, general manager, Zoltrix International Ltd, says his company has carved a niche in the emerging Middle East market which demands quality and branded high priced electronic products

Andy Yuen, general manager of Zoltrix International Limited, markets his products ranging from MP3 players and modems to digital cameras, USB flash drives and computer accessories under the Zoltrix and Z-cyber brands mainly to Iran and Dubai.

They are designed by an in-house team based in Hong Kong, manufactured in Zoltrix's 20,000 sq metre factory in Dongguan, southern China, and then shipped to the Middle East market.

"Demand in the Middle East especially in Iran took off four years ago and we have not looked back ever since; in fact we are selling 40 per cent more than in European markets.   The most important thing is to create a well-defined brand name. It's so much easier and cheaper to grow a brand in the Middle East as opposed to America and Europe," said Mr Yuen.

Creating brand awareness

Participating in electronics exhibitions in the Middle East is one way of creating brand awareness. "We find that it is much more effective to exhibit through our local distributor in Dubai rather than doing it ourselves. He knows his market well and has his own way of selling to the Middle East customers," added Mr Yuen.

He reckons Zoltrix International Limited is one of the few Hong Kong companies which is doing well in Iran. "Iran is not an easy market. You need a comprehensive range to suit the Muslim consumers."

According to Mr Yuen, every Hong Kong company has to bear in mind three golden rules when dealing with the Iran market. "The most important thing is gain their trust and be very honest with them. Never copy. Quality is of the utmost importance as they cannot return goods even defective items. That's the Iranian Government policy so you must deliver top notch goods."  

Contrary to many beliefs, Iran is ready and willing to pay for higher-end products. "Many of our customers order from our Internet website with many opting for the higher-end products such as iPoad." Mr Yuen said he can sell a similar version of the iPoad at less than half the price of Apple's iPoad.

The Middle East market can only get bigger."I have every confidence that we'll sell more to Iran in future. Our branding is good and we are getting bigger orders to source products and even to manufacture for them," said Mr Yuen.

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Zoltrix International Limited