TUDORTECH
TUDORTECH
Turning the Science of
Retail Into Art PRODUCTION: Tudortech & Karl Pietersen
Tudortech brings the world’s top end homeware appliances, photographic products and digital storage brands to South African consumers. CEO Gary Shap shares his company’s vision and goals with Enterprise Africa. www.enterprise-africa.net / 3
INDUSTRY FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY
Tudortech’s Office in the heart of Cape Town
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As you scour a retail store, or shop online, you may not realise that many of the best-in-class brands have been brought to you by Tudortech. Sigma, Leica, Olympus, SanDisk, Western Digital and Dyson are all available to the South African market through this industry-leading business, based in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
// OVER THE LAST 18 YEARS, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A DISTRIBUTION NETWORK, SUPPLYING PRODUCT INTO MORE THAN 10,000 RETAIL STORES // 4 / www.enterprise-africa.net
By building relationships with global leading brands, nurturing partnerships with retailers, and understanding the needs of the end-user, Tudortech has managed to develop a business that is growing strongly in a strained economic environment. The company’s roots go back to the early 80s and a photography industry where films were loaded into cameras, and negatives were developed in dark rooms. “My father owned a retail photographic store in Cape Town called Cameraland,” CEO Gary Shap tells Enterprise Africa. “At the time, there was a big need for photographic film. He was travelling overseas and he came across a film brand called Tudor Film. It came from the UK and a company called Tudor Photographic whose focus was supplying film to emerging markets. My dad had never heard of the brand but he struck up a relationship with Tudor
Photographic in the UK and began importing film and selling it to South Africans. That is how the wholesale arm of the business started out. We called it Tudor Photographic and as the business evolved and grew, we changed to Tudortech.” As the demand for Tudor film grew, Tudor customers began asking for more specialised gear. Shap’s father proudly met the founder of Sigma Japan at a World
TUDORTECH
// HE WAS ONE OF THE GREAT MINDS OF SILICON VALLEY AND SHARED HIS VISION FOR THE WAY FLASH MEMORY WOULD TRANSFORM THE MOBILE PHONE INDUSTRY // Trade Show and their inspired conversations and common passion for photography led to an aligned strategy to bring Sigma to South Africa. Since then, Sigma has transformed as a brand and the combination of world leading
Japanese optics together with South Africa’s abundant beauty and wildlife has led the next generation to buck the industry trend. Kazuto Yamaki, CEO at Sigma, has worked tirelessly to innovate and create the most desirable lenses in the world and Gary Shap is proud to be part of Sigma’s journey to bring one of the world’s finest lenses to the South African consumer. ANALOGUE - DIGITAL The next stage in the development of the business came in the late 90s when the photographic industry started to shift away from filmbased photography towards digital image capture. Film was quickly going to become all but redundant but Tudortech was prepared. Its next move would catapult it into a
new stratosphere in terms of size and reach. “We could see that the future of photography was a digital one and in 2001 we won the rights to distribute SanDisk in South Africa. Over the last 18 years, we have established a distribution network, supplying product into more than 10,000 retail stores,” explains Shap. SanDisk, manufacturer of flash memory cards for cameras and other tech products, quickly became the brand of choice for all photographers looking for large, fast and reliable digital memory. But SanDisk saw further opportunities to grow and Tudortech helped to implement their vision in South Africa. “I built a relationship with the founder of SanDisk, Eli Harari. He was one of the great minds of Silicon
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Valley and shared his vision for the way flash memory would transform the mobile phone industry. I was able to share his insights with the likes of Vodacom early on and established SanDisk as a valuable accessory for consumers hungry for more photos, videos and movies on their devices. That is how we expanded beyond photography into the explosive mobile phone space.”
Subsequently, the technology market changed dramatically. Computing and processing tech became more affordable and every household became a potential customer for tech manufacturers. Not only would many homes have phones but desktop and laptop computers, devices that could accommodate a USB storage drive, expanded too. This drove Tudortech
// WE MAKE IT OUR BUSINESS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE VISION OF OUR PRINCIPALS AND WE BRING OUR LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND 30 YEARS OF RETAIL EXPERIENCE TO PUT TOGETHER A PLAN TO ELEVATE AND GROW THEIR MARKET SHARE IN SOUTH AFRICA //
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into the IT and mass retail space. “With tremendous focus and passion for the brand, we expanded SanDisk across the breadth and depth of SA retail and won numerous global awards for our sales and marketing achievements. Today, we have an 80% retail market share for memory in South Africa, something for which we are extremely proud,” says Shap. In 2016, Western Digital (WD), the hard disk drive manufacturer purchased SanDisk and proceeded to appoint Tudortech as their distribution partner in South Africa. “That led to further growth in the business and gave us the ability to manage and grow the entire storage category for our retail customers,” says Shap. Even while focusing on this
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growth in the IT space, Tudortech never relented in its traditional market of photography where it expanded its photographic division to incorporate Leica and Olympus. Today Tudortech services the broad spectrum of the imaging and video market across the consumer photo, broadcasting and cinematic industries. INNOVATION TO THE CORE In 2017, Tudortech added another jewel to its crown when it announced a partnership with Dyson, the British tech company that is best recognised for its iconic vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans and hairdryers. “Dyson has exceptional products that truly revolutionise the categories in which they play. They use ingenious technology to solve everyday problems and enhance quality of life and we were honoured when they chose Tudortech as their distribution partner,” says Shap. Like with all of its brands, Tudortech had to combine all elements of its business, across sales, marketing and distribution, working closely with its retail partners to build and execute a strategy that would launch this iconic global brand to the South African audience. “Dyson stands for excellence
and their attention to detail, from product to retail execution, is second to none. We now have over 80 Dyson retail displays nationwide. The brand is growing strongly amongst SA consumers and proves
that South Africans do appreciate quality and innovation. “Working with such a creative and innovative company such as Dyson is super exciting. And with the expected launch of their electric
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vehicle in the next year or two – who knows what the future holds,” enthuses Shap. GETTING THE VISION ACROSS When Tudortech had exhausted the opportunity for these brands within their traditional channels, it bravely and creatively pushed the boundaries by taking products into places where those categories had never been seen before. This enhanced both brand-value and elevated the consumers shopping experience. “We thought @home stores and customers were a perfect fit for the Dyson products but at the time, @home did not sell large appliances. Both companies could see the vision, took some risk on the unknown and have never looked back. We continue to grow and
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expand our partnership,” says Shap. Tudortech was now a wellestablished distributor of leading global brands across mass-retail, supermarkets, consumer electronic, mobile, IT, healthcare, homeware, furniture, e-tail and more, having built relationships with all of South Africa’s major retailers. This network, combined with a thorough understanding of the desires of its principles and endusers, made Tudortech a powerful and well-respected organisation. “We are a value-added distributor, we’re not a logistics partner. We make it our business to really understand the vision of our principals and we bring our local knowledge and 30 years of retail experience to put together a plan to elevate and grow their market
// TODAY, WE HAVE AN 80% RETAIL MARKET SHARE FOR MEMORY IN SOUTH AFRICA, SOMETHING FOR WHICH WE ARE EXTREMELY PROUD // share in South Africa,” says Shap. For the CEO, partnerships between Tudortech, its principals, and the market are paramount. ALWAYS GROWING Tudortech is constantly on the lookout for opportunities helping brands live up to their full potential in this region or bringing new leading products to Africa’s shores. “We are often in conversation with international brands,” states Shap. “We don’t, however, take on hundreds of brands but prefer to partner with companies where we feel we can make a significant difference and give them the focus and attention they deserve to make that difference. I would call us a boutique distributor, focused, agile and creative.” Asked if this strategy is currently working for the business, Shap is clear: “The market shares of our brands speak for themselves and that’s something we are really proud of. “We certainly see growth in Africa,” he adds. “More and more, our principals are looking for growth across the continent so there is no question that, particularly in subSaharan Africa, we are looking to extend our business. We are certainly looking at Kenya, Rwanda, Angola, Botswana and Namibia. These are countries where we certainly see opportunities.” For those brands willing to make the jump into an emerging
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60-600mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Case and Lens Hood (LH876-04) included. Photo credit: William Steel
and fast growing mega market, Tudortech, according to Shap, is certainly an African partner worth speaking to. Don’t be fooled by numbers alone. Tudortech’s deep understanding of the channels to market, its knowledge of marketing, and its innovative approach to merchandising and demand generation is something worth taking note of. THE ART OF RETAIL The South African economy contracted by 3.2% in the first quarter of 2019, business confidence and general sentiment has been low. When these types of economic concerns are raised, spending is reduced and international brands think
twice before entering or further investing in the country. Thankfully, Tudortech is a trusted partner and continues to achieve for its principals and retailers. “There is no question that the South African economy, and retail in South Africa, is under tremendous pressure,” admits Shap. “When times are uncertain and there is increased volatility, you want to deal with people you trust. Yes, in difficult times relationships are tested but we have actually become closer to our customers during this time. They have chosen to consolidate and we are fortunate that we have been able to show continued growth. “There are companies out there who simply move boxes” says Shap, “but I’d like to think we are unique in the value we bring and the value
we create for our retail partners and the brands we love to build.” Tudortech’s answer to achieving success during challenging times lies in intensive joint business planning between itself, retailers, and the brand, marrying the needs of all parties to achieve common desired objectives. “It’s the area where we use our creative DNA and experience to turn 1 + 1 into 3, we call it turning the science of retail into art and encompasses the core of who Tudortech is today.”
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