Sennheiser Middle East is a branch office of Sennheiser UK, long responsible for the distribution of all Sennheiser Group brands in the Middle East, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of parent company, Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co.
With a diverse portfolio of products, this step has been taken to facilitate better support of its existing dealer network, as well as expanding its distribution channels.
Responsibility also encompasses the distribution of all Sennheiser Group brands, including Neumann and Klein+Hummel, as well as distributed brands such as K-Array, NetCIRA and Rycote.
"This is a logical step for Sennheiser as we look to grow the Group's direct sales in the Middle East," says Cardamone. "The last few years have seen us put a great deal of effort into growing our representation and presence. We know that some consumers in the region have used the supply and support of international distributors and in some cases system integrators, notably in broadcast, from outside the region as the distribution model for manufacturers in the Middle East develops and naturally gaps need to be filled.
"The importance of working in the same time zone and being available during our partners' working hours to offer manufacturer support and, even more importantly, local stock is key to establishing more effective relationships with our customers to provide a better solution for those regional partners.
"For this reason we have not only established the Branch office, but also a warehouse facility in Jebel Ali, serviced by our international logistics partner, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. We will be holding significant stock in expectation of being able to act swiftly to a market that, by its nature, demands short lead times, flexibility and accurate forecasting from suppliers.
"Being 'on the ground' means we are able to obtain much more accurate information on upcoming projects, whilst offering technical support and solutions to decision makers and those responsible for specifying by developing new relationships.
"We are currently working on developing our marketing approach for the Middle East and are already working on a dedicated Middle East website with an Arabic text homepage and spotlight on locally generated PR - an important step in raising awareness of our activities."
Responding to the question of the timing of such a move in light of the current state of the world's economy, general manager of Sennheiser UK, Phil Massey stated: "It is fair to ask the question at a time when many companies are being forced to consolidate operations and cut costs, but this is a long term project and there are benefits to being ahead of our competition in establishing our operation in the Middle East.
"At a time when our competitors are perhaps not able to give this area the attention, we are still able to maximise the opportunities in our diverse business segments and offer more direct support to our distributors in a joint effort to grow market share and win business."
Joining the Sennheiser Middle East team is Ryan Burr, formerly of local distributor Venuetech and also EV/Dynacord, in the support role of business development. Amin Hagroo also joins the team from consumer distributor Jumbo Electronics as sales and purchasing officer.
(Jim Evans)
