With the presence of Russell Sanders, President of Verbatim Americas, and a large group of wholesalers, resellers and retailers, among other guests, the company presented in Buenos Aires its rebranding, which follows the global announcements at Computex a few weeks ago. The meeting held at the Olympo Sky Bar was led by Gabriela Toscanini, LAR South Sales Manager at Verbatim Americas, who was also accompanied by Jorge González, Latin America Sales Director for Verbatim Americas.
“The idea is to position Verbatim on a different level,” said González, who was consulted by this media outlet. “We have a very good position, in general, in Latin America, and the idea is that with this new global image we can attract that segment in which today we are not present. We are talking about the younger age group”. The executive, who has been with the company for thirty years, recognizes that Verbatim has a shared history in Latin America, but that today it is necessary to reconnect with new generations. “And, along with this, release products for this type of audience,” he added.
About the new portfolio, he said: “They are much more entertaining products, which allow young people to do their activities without having to depend on anything”. For González, today Verbatim is defined through this offer of products “that provide mobility, security and storage. The fourth axis is ownership: you can always have the information with you. We are not working with the cloud, nor do we intend to. What has characterized us in the last fifty-five years is mobile storage”.
«We have a very good position, in general, in Latin America, and the idea is that with this new global image we can attract that segment in which today we are not present. We are talking about the youngest age group».
Jorge González, Verbatim Americas
As for the global organization, Gonzalez acknowledged that each region was previously a separate company, and that in recent years work has been done to return to “being one company” on a global scale, having its products available in all geographies, It can benefit from economies of scale and benefits from standardised practices, services and offers.
In turn, Toscanini explained that the large verticals of the offer in this new incarnation of Verbatim are Storage (especially flash, with a small remnant of optical storage products), Peripherals (Mouse, keyboards and other Traditional peripherals, to which are now added those of Connectivity), and then also Audio and Portable Monitors. The executive ensures that this new offer is aimed at the professional user, business users, students and travellers, but not so much the gamer.
Asked about the regional performance expectations from this rebranding action, Sanders replied: “We are excited and optimistic about the future. That is why I will address this group of people today. We feel that this line of products projects us, allows us to expand into new and interesting products: And we are confident that our business will grow substantially in America”.
«We feel that this line of products projects us, allows us to expand into new and interesting products: And we are confident that our business will grow substantially in America, especially in Latin America».
Russell Sanders, Vebatim Americas
“We were always known as a storage-focused company. We must now move on to other product categories, such as hybrid work accessories. We have a plan and roadmap that will allow us to expand and continue growing, so we are very optimistic for the next five or ten years,” added the regional president.
Toscanini commented that the meeting allowed them to strengthen relations with channel members (essentially resellers, retailers -in their different flavors- and distributors, along with a small proportion of direct channel).
«We want to show that the brand is adapting to the changes coming, especially online markets. Today we are one of the brands that have the largest amount of online material for retailers and resellers to use online».
Gabriela Toscanini, Verbatim Americas
Asked about the message that the brand wants to give to channels with this rebranding, the executive said. “We felt that the brand needed a refresh, give it a touch of modernity and be open to new markets. We want to show that the brand is adapting to the changes that are coming, especially online markets. Today we are one of the brands that have the most online material for retailers and resellers to use online. Partners access one of our extranets and there they have everything they need to include the products in their online stores: videos, logistics information, photos, specifications… whatever you need”.
