Neeraj Sharma

Managing Director

Explore Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd

Our ultimate objective is to become the number one in Solar and ICET distribution in Nepal.

Starting off as a distributor in 2009, Explore Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd has come a long way over the last two years. With its registered office in Narayanghat, it started with a small product basket. In mid-2010, it also ventured into the business of solar panels and desktop components from Simmtronics. Currently headquartered in Kathmandu, the company registered an annual turnover of Rs 120 million in 2010. Having gradually enhanced its product basket, it aims at a 300 percent growth in 2011.

Explore Asia Pacific is known for its ethical business practices and value-added approach which is solution-centric and vertically focused. Neeraj Sharma, Managing Director of the company, says, Our ultimate objective is to become the number one in Solar and ICET distribution in Nepal. It seems set to meet this objective as it already has a strong presence in the up-country regions and possesses management skills with proven controls and processes.

The company claims it is fortunate to have dedicated partners as part of its organised distribution system. Sharma says, Along with the modern marketing and branding concepts, our knowledge and hold in the Nepali market has held us in good stead. It plans to invest in infrastructure and technology in the long term and aspires to establish sound performance in a short period of time, though of course, with a long term commitment.

Company Mission

Explore Asia Pacific aims to have leading market shares for all products it deals with. It also envisions to have satisfied and loyal customers through value-added before and after sales services. Creating high recall brands is high on its agenda as it helps customers association by being reliable and trustworthy. Sharma says, We want to be the first choice as a distribution partner for both the vendor and the reseller by adding value to the supply chain through efficient logistics, high level of product knowledge, value-added marketing services and demand creation activities. The company is working hard to ensure wide and deep presence through an effective distribution system. It also wants to be able to create a profitable business proposition for all stake holders.

Brands and Products

The company is proud to be associated with reputed and well known brands such as ADATA, Simmtronics, Genius, Panda, Jetway and Samsung among others. It deals in well-received products like classic pen drives, pen drives superior, Simtronics desktop, external HDD, memory card, monitors, graphics card, motherboard, RAM etc. Explore Asia Pacific also plans to launch its own brand and manufacture cabinets, PSUs, keyboards, speakers and headphones etc. The tremendous market potential has propelled us to think along these lines. Once the liquidity problem gets settled, the market situation will definitely receive a boost, Sharma reasons.

Human Resource

The company boasts of having a strong human capital and talent pool. It has among the best talents in the industry with professionals from different sectors and proven experience levels. We perform best practices in place like in-depth induction programmes, in-house training, performance management systems and employee satisfaction surveys, informs Sharma. The strong sense of bonding that exists in the company has ensured a very low attrition rate. The company currently has a workforce of 18 employees at its corporate office and plans to increase it to 35 from the new fiscal year once it unveils its expansion plans. Sharma believes in dealing with his staff in an honest manner which has paid rich dividends as he has got positive results from them. He thinks that Ajay Sadewra joining Explore Asia Pacific as Director-Operation in March 2011 was a major turning point for the company's fortunes. Sadewra was earlier associated with Neoteric Nepal.

Immediate Plans

Expanding with Explore Digital, an independent and retail chain, the company plans to open 10 retail outlets in the country. There will be four outlets at prime locations in Kathmandu alone. We will geographically divide channels for our 18 distributors beginning Shrawan, informs Sharma. The company plans to advertise its upcoming retail outlets in major national dailies as well as the distribution channels. Having established its credibility with the consumer segment, Explore Asia Pacific now wants to focus on the enterprise sector and spread its wings to cater to government organisations, NGOs and INGOs and Banking and Financial Institutions among others. The company that has already made its foray into the energy sector with solar equipment also plans to provide complete solutions from this fiscal year. It is slated to start production of solar items such as the lighting system which the company says holds a big potential in the market.

Sharma attributes Explore Asia Pacific's success to a number of factors including trust, profitability concern of the channel partners, adequate service mechanism and honesty. He adds, We have come this far because of our hard work, vision and market understanding. Among its competitors, Neoteric Nepal is doing well, he says. The company was awarded for good performance by ADATA during Computex held in Taipei earlier this year in June. It seeks to reach new heights demonstrating its value added services (VAS) through its envied network and ensuring price transparency, uniformity and dedicated service among others.

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