1997 - 2001: Nascent market, Stepping Stones Redington Gulf began its journey in 1997 as a ‘trader’ for HP Supplies with five people working out of a 5,000 sq. ft. premise in Jebel Ali, Dubai. The first four years were a period of growth, calculated risk and consolidation. This phase set the pace for Redington’s ambition and vision to grow into a regional leader in the supply of IT and non-IT products. The market was nascent, but the potential was immense and Redington grabbed the opportunity. Redington also utilised this phase to study and explore growth possibilities and focused on expanding its product and brand portfolio. It added two new brands into its portfolio and expanded the geographic reach into the growing markets of KSA and Egypt. 2002 - 2007: Riding the opportunity wave Redington embarked on an exciting phase of growth as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets heralded a more liberal trade and investment environment.The markets were booming and a ten-fold growth in Internet usage in the GCC between 1999 and 2003 saw an unprecedented demand for PCs and peripherals. This shifted the tide in favour of Redington.By this time, Redington had equipped itself with new brand partnerships, an expanded portfolio of products and sound distribution channels to cater to a growing market. Between 2002 and 2007, Redington emerged from ‘Trader’ to ‘Regional Distributor’. The company also set-up service centres in all key locations to provide full-fledged support to customers. These markets included African countries where Redington was the first regional distributor to make its presence on the ground.In 2006 the company launched its Telecom and Value divisions, it was recognised as #1 Distributor in the region with over US$ 500 million in revenues. In 2007 the company opened subscription for IPO on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange.As the Partner of Choice for over 22 leading global brands in IT and Telecom, Redington now became the largest and fastest growing IT distributor in 17 markets, through 4,800+ Channel Partners.
