Harman Middle East, a market leader in home, professional and car infotainment, aims to secure $200 million in total revenues from the Middle East during the 2010-11 financial year (ending June 2011)

The bullish projection, which represents a 40 per cent increase over the last year, follows a major increase in its turnover in FY 2009-10, wherein the company achieved a 72 per cent growth given a steady demand for its products and its expansion into Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

The company is gearing up to further strengthen its retail operations in the region to reach its objectives for the current financial year, it said.

The previous fiscal year also witnessed the opening of five new Harman ME stores in the Middle East, thereby underscoring the strong demand for the company’s products in the region.

Its Projects Division has secured several audio visual implementation and integration projects like Emaar, Meydan, Jumeirah Group in FY 2009-10, and is expected to continue to be the key driver for the company’s success this year.

The mid-segment category, which includes products ranging from Dh2,000 to Dh10,000, contributed 60 per cent of the revenues in the last financial year, while its range of iPod and iPhone docking systems emerged as a key product category in the region.

“The growth we have achieved in the Middle East during our previous financial year underscores the effectiveness of our strategy, the world-class quality and appeal of our products and the region’s importance as a key market for us,” said Amit Malani, president, Harman Middle East. “Motivated by this major success, we are gearing up to take on an extensive regional retail expansion plan within the next three to five years, which will involve the unveiling of the latest next generation technologies in home, professional and car infotainment, as well as new initiatives to deliver increased value to our customers.”

At present, Harman ME has three key business lines – Retail, Distribution and Projects Divisions. As the retail arm of the company, ‘harman house’ is home to some of the world's leading audiovisual brands, including Harman Kardon, JBL, Infinity, Samsung, AKG, Becker and MAFCO; while the Projects Division, which has been a key driver of Harman ME’s growth during the previous financial year, deals with all AV systems integration and implementation for large projects such as hotels, cinemas and residential developments. Harman brands are known to power over 70 per cent of the world's recording studios, more than 75 per cent of cinemas worldwide built in the last 20 years, and are incorporated in premium cars such as BMW, Land Rover, Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, Lexus and Mini Cooper. –TradeArabia News Service