Channel Post speaks with Farhad Khan, Vice President – Commercial at XTOUCH on understanding channel dynamics and generating growth in the business.
What is your career history to date and key achievements?
I am an MBA having 15 years of career history in telecom industry including past experiences with Airtel in India, mobile divisions of LG and Samsung, a mobile SoC supplier – Mediatek and my current company TecSync.
One of my key career achievements is spearheading the growth strategy of Xtouch in this region. In the course of my career, I have also successfully set up LG’s distribution network in Nigeria, Mediatek’s regional office in Dubai and the Samsung Field Marketing Team (SFMT). I was actively involved in launching the historic LG Chocolate, developing channel communication flow strategy for Samsung Mobile and creating direct business model with local and international brands for Mediatek across EMEA region.
What are your roles and responsibilities in the company as a channel influencer?
In my current profile, my responsibilities include but are not limited to product, price, distribution and retail activation for both IR and OR.
What qualities should a channel influencer possess to lead the channel?
In order to lead the channel it is important to have a clear understanding of the channel dynamics and be adept at assessing situations to be able to take quick action in terms of product placement, pricing and shorter shelf life.
How would you assess the current state of channel?
The current state of channel is not really promising; industry is slowing down and hence retail has been affected. In general, supply is more than demand which has put pressure on the channel to sell inventory, affecting profitability.
If you could improve one thing about the channel business what would it be?
Achieving a sufficiently high level of profit is crucial in sustaining long run business growth. So, if I could change one thing about the channel business, it would be profitability.
How can businesses generate growth in the channel?
In this competitive market, if a business wants to be successful, they need to stand out in terms of their brand, product or services to place themselves uniquely in the market. So to generate growth in the channel, I would say product differentiation and avoiding cut throat competition are the key factors.
What are your interests outside of work?
Work takes up a huge part of my time and whatever I have left, I love spending it with family and friends.
