Qanawat Telecom Co KSA: A Leading Telecom Distributor in Saudi Arabia

Mohammed Sadyeh, CEO of Qanawat Telecom Co KSA, gives an overview of the company and its core business as a telecom distributor in Saudi.

“At Qanawat Telecom, our core business is as a telecom distributor. We are not an operator. We are in the middle, between the end user and the service provider. We distribute to the end user directly through our own retail or through the market sales channel, either digital or physical, wholesale, retail, electronic voucher machine, or digital services sold over a popular website like Amazon, etc. We are marketeers to all distribution channels in the telecom area. That is why we always have a good partnership with the operator, which is a major part of our revenue, and then we add our extras, either a service or a product. Now, we are a distributor of mobile accessories and cables called MiLi, one of the top five brands in the world in 15 countries. Again, it is a complete experience. We are a distributor of four smart home products and one smart car product. Consumer electronics is the core, but this is not the future. We have a proper distribution network and infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. We have the reach for the customer and we are acknowledged by the major operator or major vendor to carry their product. Until now, our distribution was a physical one rather than digital. We have a small digital part, especially in the recharge and vouchers, such as PlayStation and iTunes. These sell to the people in the suburbs and remote areas, mainly. The major cities are more tech savvy and they can go to the internet and reload an iTunes voucher or PlayStation voucher. In the remote areas, they want to go to the supermarket to buy vouchers. They are looking for a traditional way of buying in these regions. The layer between the operator and the end user is shrinking. First, there is the challenge of the operator financially with the competition, the reduction of the cost, the selling price of the minute, and the free voice services over IP like Messenger, Whatsapp, etc. One of the areas for operators to enhance their margin is to reduce the channels or the layers between them and the end user. They can reduce the commission they pay and make the relation with the end user a closer one. What will help that is the digital infrastructure with people becoming more bankable, more digital. The big guy can reach the customer without having people in between. Since 2010, we started an initiative to tap into the digital market. We were working with two international players for partnership and digital transformation. I do not want to be an application owner. In the B2B mainly, in the corporate, is where our strength is. I am always thinking how I can add value to this sector”, says Mohammed Sadyeh.

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