Table Charm by CMB Media Group

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TABLE CHARM

Table Charm:

Making A Difference PRODUCTION: Manelesi Dumasi

“We don’t just tell people we want to change lives, we actually do it,” says Table Charm Managing Director, Michael Whitehouse. This is a direct-selling company that is helping to tackle South Africa’s crippling unemployment problem by constantly developing new routes to market and offering an unrivalled product range designed to meet the needs of local consumers. 2 / www.enterprise-africa.net

INDUSTRY FOCUS: DIRECT SELLING

The direct selling industry is a proven, successful tool for building a network of customers and marketing products to a relevant commercial audience quickly and effectively. Some call it the oldest industry in history, but by the time it hit US shores and became more formal, the industry was already an established trading method. But somewhere along the way, direct sales has gained something of a bad reputation in various corners, largely due to the negative publicity received by Ponzi and pyramid schemes that have since been shut down. Some direct sales companies, years ago, didn’t have the integrity they needed. Hard sales tactics, through which recruits were pressured into buying products or front-end loading, were used. But today, with the reputation

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// WE DON’T JUST TELL PEOPLE WE WANT TO CHANGE LIVES, WE ACTUALLY DO IT // of the industry back on track thanks to international success from a number of big-name brands, this model is proving hugely positive for some companies and their distributors. Selling directly to consumers generates referrals and creates demand, and direct-selling companies are now focusing on general consumer transparency, leveraging new technologies to reach beyond distributors to general consumers and developing corporate sophistication. The industry is also backed by powerful international associations that look out for the rights of the consumer. The perfect example in South

Africa is Table Charm. Founded more than four decades ago as a family business, Table Charm is today one of the biggest employers in the country, with a range of products to suit the needs of almost every individual. Michael Whitehouse is the company’s long-serving Managing Director, and he tells Enterprise Africa that the success that has been realised is down to a focus on improving quality of life rather than making endless profits. “We have always had a commitment to empowering people and changing people’s lives, and we’ve gone from strength to strength. That is where we differ to a lot of

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multi-level direct selling companies,” he says. “We don’t just tell people we want to change lives, we actually do it. We don’t keep office hours. We have meetings in the most rural places you could imagine. We will have meetings under a tree where we just put a table and chairs out in the sunshine. “Our people believe that hard work brings reward. Do what’s hard and life is easy, do what’s easy and life is hard.” A BOUNTIFUL BRAND Table Charm’s core business involves the sale of dinnerware (dinner plates, side plates, bowls, serving platters, tea cups and saucers, and mugs), glassware, cooking utensils, plastic storage

solutions, and other kitchen accessories. Over the years, the company has added to this extensively, but still realises much of its activity through its traditional range. “We have always been big in dinnerware, crockery, glassware, cutlery, and pots and pans, and that is still 55% of our business. In 2010, we got into fragrances and skincare with a brand called Style. We’ve also started to introduce handbags, scarves and fashion accessories,” explains Whitehouse. This growth in the product range forms part of a wider expansion strategy through which Whitehouse would like to see the company grow to become the number one direct selling company on the African continent. In 2014, Table Charm was acquired by Bounty Brands, a group

which will list on the JSE in 2019. “The reason we chose Bounty Brands was because of the synergies and cross selling opportunities. Bounty Brands has a range of healthcare products and they own the agency rights to Russell Hobbs in South Africa and so we will be putting the Russell Hobbs range into ours,” explains Whitehouse. “They have three main divisions which are apparel, food and home care. They own the rights to Vans Shoes, Jeep clothing, Allstar Shoes and others. They also own the Essence homecare brand in SA which is extremely popular.” Currently, Table Charm is present across almost all of sub-Saharan Africa but the vision of Whitehouse is for the company to take its fantastic product range and employment creating abilities as far and wide as possible.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: DIRECT SELLING

“We sell into Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, and South Africa,” he says. “We recently opened in Zambia and we have opened in Zimbabwe but that market does have its challenges. We have such good relations with the people of Zimbabwe that we are planning to hang in there until there is a turnaround in the economy. “My idea is to go to East Africa via Kenya. I’ve also been to West Africa and looked at Ghana and that market suits our whole ethos – the Ghanaian people are fantastic. Kenya is an easier place to do business with the legal structures and we have big expansion plans there.” While many South African organisations that have expanded into Africa have quickly retreated, Table Charm is one of the success stories. This is thanks to a strict commitment to its core values and a longstanding membership with the Direct Selling Association. “We are very different from most companies as we are all about one-on-one relationships and we have an almost 100% blackwoman staff base. Some companies have race challenges within their organisations – we certainly do not. We have built relationships all

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the way through the difficult times that South Africa has experienced because of our mutual goals.

“My main passion is making a difference in other people’s lives. “The direct selling model is

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JENPAK Jenpak was established in 2011. It’s core focus was to provide a contract packaging service to the pharmaceutical industry. In 2013 the company expanded and started offering the same services to other industries such as the cosmetic and healthcare industries. Increased growth enables the company to procure a wider range of machinery that allows Jenpak to offer a range of services which include, filling and boxing. With a combined experience of over 60 years in the packaging industry, compiled with many strategic partnerships, the company is able to offer its customers a range of services, assisting customers from the concept phase all the way through to the finished product.

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working and it has a lot of room to grow in Africa. Even in moredeveloped companies like China, it’s taking off nicely and it’s big in America. We are having doubledigit growth in Southern Africa in this industry and it’s a success story where we are creating employment as a consequence. “Some parts of the industry have been criticised for operating like a pyramid or Ponzi scheme but we make sure we belong to the DSA to keep the consumer protected,” details Whitehouse. A newer addition to the Table Charm product portfolio is a personal care range called Zonke Health. This

range is made for the skin, face and body, and is created using a mix of traditional African herbs with modern scientific techniques. “Zonke means ‘all healing, all health’. We like to work with traditional herbs as our people can relate to it,” says Whitehouse. “We like African Potato, we like baobab, we like moringa, and that can make things challenging from a compliancy point of view as we have to submit samples and paperwork to the medical control council, but it gives us a USP and our people really relate to living off the earth.” These types of product are important for Table Charm as

the company looks to embrace generational shifts and attract new consumers and new sellers. Whitehouse admits that younger agents are less interested in distributing dinnerware but much more excited about fashion items and healthcare products. With the average age of direct sellers sitting at 45 years, gaining the interest of the next generation is vital. “We try hard to get out there with the people; where they live, in the taxi ranks, at social gatherings; we go out there about put out our gazebos and umbrellas and we take our recruiting material. We use our energy to help people join and we

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: DIRECT SELLING

// IT HAS TAKEN A LOT OF FAITH BUT WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL // try hard to drive word of mouth. We are totally reliant on referrals so if somebody has a bad experience, it’s important to get people talking positively about our company and brand as a whole,” says Whitehouse. The company is also embracing the digital age by investing heavily in the development of a new website and app to help showcase products to the many African consumers active online through mobile devices. “We have hired a developer to

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start that as one of our challenges is communication,” explains Whitehouse. “Our people don’t necessarily have access to computers or fax machines, but all South Africans have mobile devices. “We want to build an online system where we go from consultant down and spread our roots over a wide base. Then there is less risk with payment and people can focus more on recruitment. “Our online system will allow our people to place an order with the company and see network, sales and payments, and have access to an e-learning environment which we are pushing quite quickly. That is where we will host all of our training material. The app that we are looking

at doesn’t require a lot of data and is designed for the mass market.” KEEPING THE FAITH Through 2016 and 2017, many businesses, across a range of industry sectors, reported slumps in demand and a weak economic environment which resulted in poor overall business confidence. But that all changed in January 2018 when President Ramaphosa took office and promised to root out corruption in government and create an environment where business could thrive. Table Charm has seen the positive impact of the political switch and is readying for an upward shift in the economic picture. “We did notice that the third

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and fourth quarters of 2017 had a downswing in general attitudes of people which permeated in the economy as a whole. In our LSM, which is the masses, there was a negative feeling. But with the Ramaphosa environment, there is definitely a much more positive sentiment but that still has to translate into an upswing in the economy. Looking at the first quarter, things remained slower but we saw an improvement in the second quarter. There is definitely a more positive mood.” Alongside development of the online presence, expanding into new geographic regions, and bolstering its product range, Table Charm will also be looking to bring onboard

new salespeople to ensure the evergrowing family continues to develop successfully. “Our biggest challenge is about having the right team with the right amount of grit, drive and determination to succeed,” says Whitehouse. “Our people must take the vision forward. The Bounty group understand that, and they are helping us to do things better by doing things differently. “We want to move away from conformity and be innovative in how we do things. We are excited, we are always positive, and we are looking forward to the future. “I don’t care who owns Table Charm, I’m never going to run it differently; it’s always going to be about changing people’s lives. So

far, Bounty has bought into it and the environment is dynamic so I am enjoying the way things are going.” He concludes by saying that “it has taken a lot of faith but we have been successful”. This is a business with more than 40 years of sales experience, internationally respected products that are backed by scientific research, a brand that is valued and recognised by customers, and a growing African market that is hungry for further advancement. The next step will be further development on the continent and pursuing further market share in South Africa.

WWW.TABLECHARM.CO.ZA

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June 2018

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

SATIB / Tintswalo / Table Charm / Chemprotech

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ENTERPRISE AFRICA

J UNE 2018