Just six months after opening its doors, Data Storage Distribution (DSD) has clinched distribution rights for tier-one storage brand Lexar.
Kalvin Subbadu.
Kalvin Subbadu, co-founder and MD of DSD, says the deal is testament to success DSD has enjoyed in the local market since it started trading in March this year.
Under the terms of the Lexar agreement, DSD will distribute Lexar’s full range of retail and channel products in South Africa and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries.
“This is a big deal for us,” Subbadu says. “Lexar is a major brand and tier one vendor. For us to get the distribution rights to their line-up demonstrates their trust in what we are doing in this market and our strategy going forward.
“Adding Lexar to our portfolio puts us on the same footing as the traditional distributors.”
Fissal Oubida, Global Marketing Director and Lexar GM: Middle East, Africa and India, comments: “We see DSD as the perfect fit for Lexar. They are a distributor that solely focuses on storage products, which will give us the focus and attention to grow Lexar to the number one market position in South Africa.
“In addition, the company’s management team has vast experience in the storage market – both retail and channel – and this will add to our collective success.”
Lexar has been available in the South African market for some years, but hasn’t enjoyed the same broad-based distribution as competitive brands. As a consequence, the name is not as well-known as in the rest of the world, Subbadu says. “Globally, Lexar is one of the leaders in the storage space; and has a huge presence around the world.
“Now, we are going to give them the presence, breadth and visibility they deserve in the local market as well.”
DSD may have only been operating in the South African market since March, but it is already making its presence felt.
“Business has been great,” Subbadu says. “We exceeded our six-month plan within three months. I would never have dreamed we could do as much as we have done.
“In that time, we have established ourselves in the market and built trust with our resellers.”
The distributor has been working with the HikVision storage products, targeting the price-sensitive area of the market – and has grown to be the vendor’s biggest storage distributor.
Now, with the addition of the tier one Lexar brand, it can address every part of the market, Subbadu points out.
“We are confident that we will make an impact with Lexar,” he says. “We will create the visibility, we have the brand, and we have the availability.”
Although it has focused primarily on the South African market during its first months in business, DSD has a strategy in place to address the rest of the SADC countries.
DSD is distributing all of Lexar’s product lines: USB flash drives; memory cards; internal/external SSDs; SSD enclosures; memory and accessories.
The company is staffing up to support the brand and has already appointed a Sales Lead to drive the channel strategy, and is in the process of recruiting new reseller partners.
“We are on a huge drive to grow our channel to ensure we actively engage SME/SMB customers,” Subbadu says. “Our message to resellers is to contact us or visit our web site and sign up. We are eager to do business with you.
“We are investing in the Lexar brand, and aim to make it a top seller in the South African market. We are tremendously excited about the potential.”
Learn more about DSD, or sign up as a reseller by visiting www.dsd.co.za