A L L I G AT O R
ALLIGATOR
30 Years of Growth
in Cape Town for Alligator PRODUCTION: David Napier
From its factory in Cape Town, family-run custom marketing merchandise specialist, Alligator, is producing promotional and retail products for clients worldwide. Its reputation for quality products and service has seen it rise to the top of its industry, so Enterprise Africa speaks to Managing Director, Stephen Marks about how Alligator can continue growing.
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Cape Town’s Alligator, a custom product specialist, is the perfect example of how to grow a family business to become a big name with international reach. Founded in 1954 as a factory which manufactured cooler bags for a single customer, the five-employee business remained stagnant for decades before being acquired by R.J.S Marks, a local entrepreneur with dreams of building a family business that could have a real impact on its customer’s operations. He purchased Alligator in 1988 and quickly went about diversifying the product and service portfolio. His son Anthony joined him in the beginning
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before brothers Stephen and Gavin, both Chartered Accountants, joined in 1993 and 1996 respectively followed by Sandy Naidoo who joined in 2008, bringing a wealth of experience in the corporate and promotional market, becoming an integral part of the management team based in the Johannesburg office. Today, the three brothers together with Sandy, and an exceptionally strong senior management team, direct every aspect of Alligator’s business and are hands on business owners. We ask Managing Director, Stephen Marks, to explain more about how the business has changed from
when the family became involved. “Today the company is a totally different business and is focused on both importing of finished bespoke product for the corporate promotional industry as well as the retail industry,” he says. “The product range is hugely diverse and we have forged many significant relationships from some of the best suppliers in the world across a diverse range of products including bags, caps, clothing, stainless steel products, tech products, key rings, packaging products and many more. We still have the factory which employs approximately 150 staff and we have a total staff compliment of about 250.
INDUSTRY FOCUS: MARKETING
Today, our range of services includes concept and design, manufacturing of bags and beach umbrellas, sourcing of products worldwide, warehousing and distribution nationally and internationally, hosting of on-line E-shops for our branch orientated customers, and on-line sales and marketing directly to the public and all business operators.” FULL SOLUTION This is not simply a branding company or a product design agency. Alligator’s input forms part of carefully planned
marketing strategies. More and more companies are realising the potential that corporate promotional branding can achieve. Being able to communicate directly with your clients, being able to deliver a specific message in an inventive and novel way – marketing is changing and promotional products and experiential marketing are key drivers in this revolution. The stats don’t lie; a study by the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) undertaken during 2016/17 showed that six out of 10 consumers keep promotional products
Managing Director, Stephen Marks
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with them for up to two years, 85% of people do business with the advertiser after receiving a promotional item, 89% of consumers can recall the advertiser even two years after receiving a promotional product, and 63% of consumers give away their promotional products when not needed. But how do you make the most of this type of marketing? How can you make promotional products and retail items work for your company, contributing to brand and business development? First and foremost, it pays to partner with an expert and one of South Africa’s leaders in the creation of brand experiences is Alligator. Marks details more about key contract-wins. “One of our biggest achievements was the winning of the 1995 Rugby World Cup licence to supply a range of bags to the public. Nelson Mandela had just been released from prison and that created a state of euphoria and hope in South Africa. Securing this licence meant gearing up our factory and an introduction to direct importing to cope with the huge demand for our product. “More recently” he continues, “our engagement with lean manufacturing consultants to help improve our factory performance and at the same time uplifting staff and offering them individual growth within the factory environment is a real milestone. This has been an extremely successful programme and it’s wonderful to see how much the staff have bought into the concept of lean manufacturing which has opened the door to a lot of self-improvement for all staff and improvement in production efficiencies.” Today, Alligator calls a number of highly-recognisable brands its clients including BMW, SAB (now AB InBev), DHL, Distell, Discovery, Investec and SuperSport, to name just a few. Distribution of promotional products, especially those that are carefully designed and expertly manufactured, provides many benefits including low-cost effective marketing, instant brand recognition, extensive
ALLIGATOR
// I GUESS I AM THE ETERNAL OPTIMIST AND HAVE BELIEF IN OUR COUNTRY AND OUR PEOPLE // brand exposure, customer loyalty, and improved referral rates. “Our goal is to offer all our customers a one stop, full solution for promoting their brands and maintaining brand integrity,” says Marks. “Our ‘full solution’ offering spans the entire supply chain and includes product concept, design and development, production, quality control, warehousing, distribution and finally the means to host your own online shop and e-catalogue. Our reporting and management systems keep you well informed on details such as stock levels, top selling items, repeat customers and so much more. Our reports can also be tailor-made to meet your specific requirements.” AMBITIOUS EXPANSION Although the Marks family has been involved with Alligator for 30 years, the focus on development of the business has never slowed. The three entrepreneurs are always pushing for more, and current plans to expand include bigger premises, more tech, bigger product range, and a focus on geographic growth. “The industry has changed significantly over the years. Competition has grown out of improved technology and the industry has become one measured by service, quality of product and creativity,” says Stephen Marks. “We will be investing in more technologically advanced machinery to improve product quality in the factory; we will be investing in more local resources i.e. job creation to better service customer requirements; we will be developing our own range of
proudly South African manufactured items to offer the market; and we will be taking note of BBBEE requirements and addressing them to the best of our ability,” he adds. And when it comes to new geographic markets, sub-Saharan Africa will be the first target. Alligator has already set up a ‘cross border team’ to break into new markets and progress is imminent. The company also has strong international ambitions to further its export programme. Currently, the 1600 m2 facility in Epping Cape Town incorporates both manufacturing and branding operations producing more than 500,000 units annually and this could grow if deals are done in new markets. Marks says that finding the most costeffective way to market the business (potentially through trade shows
or presentations to multi-national customers) could help to drive growth. “We also never forget about our responsibility to the people of South Africa hence much investment in resources for the manufacturing side of our business to meet international standards of manufacturing as well as ethical sourcing of product,” he says. And the manufacturing sector needs all the help it can get. After a difficult few years, the industry in SA is now known as one in decline so much so that President Ramaphosa recently announced a R50 billion stimulus package to revive agriculture and manufacturing specifically. This followed news that South African manufacturing activity posted its worst reading in 13 months in August, according to the PMI (purchasing managers’ index). Currently,
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MARKETING
manufacturing is responsible for around 13% of the country’s GDP but it shed 105,000 jobs in the three months through June. Combine this with the news of technical recession and you realise backdrop is disturbing. While the situation is worrying for those in the industry, Alligator has been positioned to overcome short-term challenges and remains
// WE WILL BE INVESTING IN MORE TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED MACHINERY TO IMPROVE PRODUCT QUALITY IN THE FACTORY // 6 / www.enterprise-africa.net
positive about the future with plans for ongoing growth. “I guess I am the eternal optimist and have belief in our country and our people,” admits Marks. “While we may be in a technical recession, I believe we have the right leader who will address corruption, particularly in state-owned enterprises, which should encourage foreign investment and lead to growth. SA is a commodity rich country but cannot solely rely on this. We need to improve our manufacturing industry and focus on industries such as tourism which will create jobs. Job creation is the key, hence Alligator’s commitment to growth in our own factory. The key to job creation is the education of our children hence this is where Alligator focuses its social responsibility initiatives e.g. donating of schoolbags
to schools in previously disadvantaged communities.” Of course, exchange rates are of major concern to Alligator as an importer. But, again, the company has a plan to mitigate against the effects of regular currency pricing fluctuations. “We want to grow the export side of our business which means striving for a world-class manufacturing facility to produce a range of products that can be marketed worldwide. We are already doing this,” says Marks. “Another strategy is to remain dedicated and focused on those issues which will provide stability and growth in SA - namely, a commitment to education and job creation being the pillars of stability and growth, resulting in a strong and stable currency. We can only play our own small part here and trust the rest of SA plays theirs,” he adds.
ALLIGATOR
COMPETITIVE EDGE Alligator has proven its ability to supply major corporations with a comprehensive range of products and provide end-to-end merchandising solutions, and this is reflected in its trophy cabinet where awards sit from the likes of SAB (now AB InBev), recognising the company as the supplier of the year. Alligator’s commitment to fair labour practices, health and safety in the workplace as well as social and ethical business practices has earned the company a SMETA 4-pillar audit accreditation from Sedex. Asked about the most important element in his burgeoning business, Marks is sure that people are fundamental. “Human capital resources and experience is key in this industry,” he says. “Staff need to be empowered
// HAVING DONE THIS FOR 30 YEARS AND STILL HAVING THE PASSION FOR WHAT WE DO, GIVES ALLIGATOR THAT COMPETITIVE EDGE // to grow and take on responsibility. Experience is required to understand a customer’s needs and the market they are trying to attract. Experience is understanding product development and finding that balance between quality and price. Having done this for 30 years and still having the passion for what we do gives Alligator that competitive edge.” The growth that Alligator has achieved to date is a fantastic achievement for a business that started out as not much more than a vision for a family-run operation. And, now under second-generation Marks family
leadership, the journey continues. “The long-term vision is to maintain steady year-on-year growth by continuing to provide great product at competitive prices, whilst providing a safe and secure environment for all staff to work and grow,” Stephen Marks concludes.
WWW.ALLIGATOR.CO.ZA
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