Premier Farnell to set up in India by early 2008

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) British electronics distributor Premier Farnell Plc is looking to expand into India by the start of next year after its successful move into China, chief executive Harriet Green told Reuters in an interview.

Green, who joined the company in April 2006, also said she planned to increase Premier Farnell's online sales to 50 percent of the total within three years, from about a third now.

Premier Farnell, which distributes a wide range of items from batteries and microchips to diodes, opened new warehouses and a distribution centre in Shanghai in April.

''When you have half of the world's population living in China, India and Indonesia it is very important that we have ways of supporting those customers,'' Green said.

''We are hoping something will be up and running (in India) by the beginning of next year,'' adding she was deciding whether its move into India should be a joint venture, an acquisition or a greenfield development as in China.

''We have done a lot of research. We are in talks with small to medium-sized Indian and western companies based in India, some of whom are manufacturers already working with us.'' Premier Farnell, which typically supplies small packages of components to maintenance and design engineers, has franchises with electronic manufacturers Vishay Intertechnology, Microchip Technology and Tyco Electronics.

''Whether it is New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore... the real challenge will be the logistics and infrastructure,'' she said, adding the company faced similar issues in China.

Green said improving efficiencies within the company, such as the focus on raising online sales, would pay for the Indian venture. ''We are talking about millions of pounds not tens of millions. If we start from greenfield that is the type of investment we are making.'' Green has seen Premier Farnell's share price rise a fifth in value over the past 12 months to 212.25 pence, valuing the business at 1.05 billion pounds ( LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) British electronics distributor Premier Farnell Plc is looking to expand into India by the start of next year after its successful move into China, chief executive Harriet Green told Reuters in an interview.

Green, who joined the company in April 2006, also said she planned to increase Premier Farnell's online sales to 50 percent of the total within three years, from about a third now.

Premier Farnell, which distributes a wide range of items from batteries and microchips to diodes, opened new warehouses and a distribution centre in Shanghai in April.

''When you have half of the world's population living in China, India and Indonesia it is very important that we have ways of supporting those customers,'' Green said.

''We are hoping something will be up and running (in India) by the beginning of next year,'' adding she was deciding whether its move into India should be a joint venture, an acquisition or a greenfield development as in China.

''We have done a lot of research. We are in talks with small to medium-sized Indian and western companies based in India, some of whom are manufacturers already working with us.'' Premier Farnell, which typically supplies small packages of components to maintenance and design engineers, has franchises with electronic manufacturers Vishay Intertechnology, Microchip Technology and Tyco Electronics.

''Whether it is New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore... the real challenge will be the logistics and infrastructure,'' she said, adding the company faced similar issues in China.

Green said improving efficiencies within the company, such as the focus on raising online sales, would pay for the Indian venture. ''We are talking about millions of pounds not tens of millions. If we start from greenfield that is the type of investment we are making.'' Green has seen Premier Farnell's share price rise a fifth in value over the past 12 months to 212.25 pence, valuing the business at 1.05 billion pounds ($2.10 billion).

REUTERS DKS VV1812 .10 billion).

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