Samsung, Optus sign distribution agreement

Says Matthew Thackrah, director of the consumer electronics division at Samsung: "Optus is a leading distributor locally with an established retail channel. As a result, this alignment for Samsung is highly beneficial, where our core objective is to create extended platforms for consumers to access our smart, innovative and interconnected products. Furthermore, as a sole partner to Optus - for the distribution of photographic equipment for Kodak Express stores - we believe that we have a solid product offering that will certainly provide these stores with the opportunity to deliver what is expected from their consumers."

Products are fully compatible

Samsung will, through this agreement, offer the Kodak Express stores a number of exciting special offers to launch this agreement, as well as provide the stores with high-end camera products in both the video and compact system camera categories. These products will also be fully compatible with the existing Kodak Express products where in-store printing, photobooks and accessories are a core focus for their business model.

"With the restructuring of Kodak globally it was critical that we identified a technology partner which could assist us in maintaining our retail offering and ensure that we can take advantage of the technology convergence prevalent in today's market ensuring that there was not a gap in the market for both the store owners and of course the consumers," says Rafi Bricker, operations director at Optus Brands. "Samsung, as a leading global brand, offered us exactly this - the opportunity to continue to deliver a range of high-end, quality cameras to these stores. Given the brand growth and innovative direction that is being witnessed, we have great confidence that this agreement will assure our consumers and partners of a solid product offering that is underpinned by smart functionality."

"We are excited to partner with Optus and believe that this agreement has the opportunity to not only elevate our brand within the camera space, but also holds potential growth beyond merely cameras to that of smart TVs, PCs and notebooks as well as smart mobile phones and tablets - demonstrating to the market the interconnected environment between our different product ranges," concludes Thackrah.