SanDisk Expands Retail Flash Memory Card Business Into Vietnam to Address Growing Market of Digital Consumers

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), today unveiled plans to expand its retail market presence and product offerings in Vietnam. As part of the company’s go-to-market strategy, SanDisk named two leading distributors: FPT Corporation, a leading Vietnamese distributor of IT products and mobile phone products, and Ingram Micro, the world’s largest wholesaler of technology goods. The company made this announcement at a press conference at the Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. SanDisk aims to leverage its new relationships with FPT Corporation and Ingram Micro to better reach Vietnam’s growing consumer market of 23 million mobile phone users and 17.8 million internet subscribers. FPT Corporation will focus on SanDisk’s series of mobile phone cards while and Ingram Micro will distribute the company’s leading USB flash drives, high-performance cards for mobile and digital imaging, and Sansa® MP3 players throughout the country. Vietnam has experienced a boom in broadband Internet services and cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh have up to 90 percent Wi-Fi penetration, creating market demand for portable storage solutions and increased memory capacity for mobile devices. "Solid economic and infrastructure growth creates a tremendous market opportunity for SanDisk in Vietnam,” said Gavin Wu, Managing Director, SanDisk Corporation Asia Pacific. "We believe that our high-capacity memory cards for mobile and imaging, combined with flash memory USBs will help address the need for improved information storage and processing, and Vietnam’s increasingly digitally-savvy population.” Today’s launch showcased an array of SanDisk’s latest high-capacity, flash memory-based products to meet the demands of Vietnamese consumers. Key products featured included: 8GB MicroSDHC™ and M2™ Card -- Compatible with the new breed of mobile phones with card slots, the 8GB SanDisk microSDHC and M2 card is ideal for the growing number of consumers who make their mobile phone — with its built-in music player, digital camera and video player/recorder — the centerpiece of their digital lifestyle. SanDisk Extreme® Ducati Series -- This line of turbo-charged flash memory cards and USB which include the SanDisk Extreme Ducati Edition CompactFlash®, the SanDisk Extreme Ducati Edition SD Plus, and SanDisk Extreme Ducati USB drive, offer the quickest read/write times of the SanDisk portfolio providing consumers with the ultimate performance experience. Cruzer® Contour™ – The high performance Cruzer Contour features a sleek and stylish black glossy design coupled with an innovative sliding USB connector that retracts into the body. The sliding USB connector eliminates the need for caps and protects the connector. The Cruzer Contour also features a lifetime limited warranty. Available in 4GB and 8GB, the Cruzer Contour offers the utmost level in USB security through its unique U3 technology, as well as additional software including Skype, CruzerSync™, Avast, SignupShield and HP Photosmart. FPT Corporation, the strategic partner of major mobile handset vendors such as Nokia, Motorola and Samsung in approximately 80 percent of Vietnam’s provinces, will apply its success in the handset distribution business to market SanDisk’s mobile memory cards. "Our in-depth knowledge of Vietnam market combined with our extensive experience working with global mobile phone leaders will help to drive success of SanDisk sales and the company’s brand in Vietnam,” said Hoang Minh Chau, Deputy Managing Director of FPT Corporation. SanDisk’s distribution agreement with Ingram Micro will help to quickly establish SanDisk in the local market. Ingram Micro provides SanDisk with the broadest channel to market its high-performance mobile and digital imaging cards, USB flash drives and MP3 digital audio players in Vietnam. "The opportunity to work with the global leader in flash memory in such a fast growing market presents Ingram Micro with an exciting opportunity,” said Francis Choo, Managing Director, Ingram Micro Asia Ltd. "I’m confident that this is the first development in what will be a very bright future for SanDisk in Vietnam.” With the strong support of its two distributors, a combination of global expertise and local insight, SanDisk strives to penetrate Vietnam’s population of approximately 85 million people. The company will embark on an integrated marketing campaign to build the SanDisk brand. The nationwide campaign, beginning in December, will leverage print advertising, PR activities and point of sales materials to build visibility among retailers, and educate the retail channel and consumers. SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world’s largest supplier of flash data storage card products, using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S. SanDisk’s web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com. SanDisk’s product and executive images can be downloaded from http://www.sandisk.com/corporate/mediakit/ SanDisk, the SanDisk logo, SanDisk Extreme, Sansa, CompactFlash and CruzerSync are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Cruzer Contour is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder(s). This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including expectations for new product introductions, specifications, applications, markets, customer acceptance, customers and specifications , that are based on our current expectations and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate. Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others: market demand for our products may grow more slowly than our expectations or there may be a slower adoption rate for these products in new markets that we are targeting, we may be unable to produce the types of products we expect, these products may not perform as expected, these products may not be available when expected, and the other risks detailed from time-to-time under the caption "Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We do not intend to update the information contained in this press release.