Chile. 7 years ago, the Argentine company Icap Global opened its offices to distribute AV products in the Chilean market. Andrés Vera, country manager of the office in this country, highlighted to AVI Latin America how the market, the business model and the companies they represent today are.
"It's been a very interesting process. The truth is that there is a lot of growth, a lot of learning. We arrived at one point to stop in Chile, we decided to listen and we realized that there was an important gap that had to do with the distribution of value. There were no companies that delivered added value to brands. And, on the other hand, we were realizing, fortunately, that we had been leading this whole process of technology change, "he said.
He added that, with the arrival of the pandemic, all this that they had been pushing little by little became a necessity and that is when the real opportunity really appeared. That's where they began to gain a place in the market and grow with distributions and representations.
"The brands also knew how to see what was the added value that we delivered, which is basically related to providing support in the country, giving quick responses to needs. On the other hand, there is a very important issue that has to do with access to information to new brands, new technologies, such as AV / IT. Basically it results in the world of collaboration, companies have to have a high level of certification, that is, they have to know a lot about different areas, be good at networks, know IP networks, and on the other hand know audio, video, and there are many things that integrators fail to supply concretely. And that's where we appear to be able to support these brands, "he explained.
He added that this is what has been the differential in these seven years and that has allowed them to project this development to the rest of the countries through the concept of Andina within Icap Global, applying the same business model in both Colombia and Peru quite successfully. And today they have several brands that have relied on this model providing representation for the three countries, the most recent of them Biamp, as well as Logitech, I3, among others.
Today, Icap Global Chile distributes and represents more than 10 brands, including Barco, Biamp, Evoco, Logitech, Zoom, Shure, Jabra, Avonic, Mersive, Sharp, Wepresent, I3 and Panasonic.
"We have been characterized by having brands of the high segment, first line products, with very good acceptance, and the truth is that also the support that each of them provides is very important for the development of the local market. InfoComm looks forward to announcing an important display brand that adds to our portfolio."
Andrés Vera clarified that ICAP Global Andina, which includes the markets of Chile, Peru and Colombia, does not integrate. "In no case do we integrate, we are value distributors and brand representatives also for the collaboration segment, which there we make a differentiation because we stopped being audiovisual a long time ago. Already the incorporation into what is information technology, as I said before, creates this segment that is collaboration and that is where we are strongest. "
Finally, he invited a training that will take place on May 30 on the new Biamp Control, which will be in charge of Ernesto Montañez, Latin America manager of Biamp and Luis Díaz, product manager of Biamp in Icap Global Chile.
