Global electronics giant Sharp has opened a new business subsidiary and experience centre in Boksburg, Gauteng, in an effort to offer its entire product range – and increase its brand presence – to the Southern African region.

Previously leveraging the capacity of legacy third-party distribution channels, the move will enable Sharp South Africa to directly trade with, and service, the Southern African Development Community region, unlocking a wider range of technology for clients, partners and consumers.

“This office is a spearhead for a large international firm to re-establish its presence in South Africa,” says Sharp South Africa sales manager Roald Vermaak, highlighting that the group, using the new Johannesburg office as a base, will be responsible for further business development in South Africa’s neighbouring countries.

As a fully owned subsidiary office for Sharp Middle East and Africa, which is the regional headquarters of Japan-based Sharp Corporation, the new hub boasts an initial local team of five to drive absorption of the Sharp business electronic technology into the market.

The local subsidiary offers all the critical business functions, including channel sales, after-sales service, credit management and support and warranty management operations, as well as its own warehousing and staff, with a focus, as a manufacturer, on selling Sharp products into authorised resellers or channel dealers.

“The trade hub in South Africa increases our capacity to take on more channel dealers or resellers and enables direct distribution from the original-equipment manufacturer (OEM),” he adds.

The company’s existing local partnerships remain intact and continue to be leveraged; however, the brand is now being brought directly into South Africa with direct OEM support and addressing legacy distribution channels, Vermaak says.

“We are taking a bigger role as an OEM to supply our legacy distributors with enhanced warranty programmes and enhanced stock availability. Where we find there are gaps in the product line-up, we will distribute those product ourselves, complementing [the distributors’] offerings,” he explains.

Consumers also benefit from enhanced availability, with the lead times to market significantly reduced, and, as the products are directly supported by the manufacturer’s warranty, consumers can now experience improved service support closer to home, as opposed to a network of expats in the Middle East.

“We have partnered with a local warehousing and logistics operation in Kempton Park. In addition, we have enlisted the services of South African professional services firms to ensure compliance.”

The hub is also home to a small training centre, providing resellers with training on installation and product features of the wider range of products.

Sharp products range from multifunction copiers, professional displays and interactive screens, as well as its trademark calculators, touch-based point of sale systems and electronic cash registers.