Interview for IT Europa provided by Mitko Topalov, Regional Sales Director (Bulgaria, Romania), ASBIS.

- How do you expect your country's accession to the EU to affect business for you?
 
ASBIS Bulgaria expects positive effects from the EU accession. Customs fees for our imports are already gone, so prices will improve slightly. We expect growth of investments in Bulgaria and decrease of the share of the black market.

- How will it affect the IT distribution industry, and how long will it take for noticeable changes to take place?
 
We believe it will be some 3-6 months before some noticeable changes are felt for the IT distribution business. We expect increasing activity of other big European distis which can approach some of our big customers directly. This means increasing competition. The main focus for us will remain maintaining a high level of customer support - our customers in Bulgaria can rely on our strong support and service.

- How do you think the market of end-users will change?
 
We can hardly expect the situation to change much for the end-user. There are established retail chains in Bulgaria, which offer very attractive prices, and the goods are the same. Bulgarian customers can expect better and faster service from dealers based in Bulgaria, rather than from dealers based elsewhere in the EU.

- Will there be more competitors or an increased number of clients, or both?
 
We don't expect an increase in the number of clients, as we are focused only on the local market. The competition can be expected to increase, with the intervention of big European IT distributors, which may result in lower margins for all participating distributors.
 
- Do you think business will be different for your vendors and your resellers?
 
Our major vendors are multinational companies with definite territorial policies, so we believe any change (intervention from outside) in this aspect is impossible. We are working in Bulgaria following the same business model as other established international distributor companies, so we don't expect any change regarding vendors or resellers.

ASBIS Bulgaria