Syntech plans to open its first African office in about two years as it ramps up expansion plans to supply more products north of its initial Cape Town base. This follows its opening of a Johannesburg outlet, in Midrand, this month.
MD Craig Nowitz notes it was "inevitable" the company would open a Johannesburg office, as one day the costs of shipping from Cape Town would justify the expense of another office that could serve the northern region.
In a year or two, the Midrand outlet - run by Francois Lottering - should be bigger than Cape Town, says Nowitz. The 400m2 centre is staffed by six people, although Nowitz expects that figure to grow to 20 in a year, boosting Syntech's current staff offering to 57.
Nowitz adds the company expects to run out of space in a year, and will seek larger premises in about six months. The IT distributor, established in 2002, offers a range of product lines focused on storage and memory solutions, consumer electronics, Apple accessories, closed-circuit TV and security, computer components as well as digital signage solutions.
Ultimately, says Nowitz, Johannesburg will be about three times the size of Cape Town, but Syntech is not planning further South African offices, believing it can get its logistics "right" to handle the market with only two.
Nowitz says the company's next offices will be in Africa and the Far East, so it can better serve the African market as it does not make sense to ship from Asia to SA and then into Africa.
Syntech will look to open branches in Namibia, as well as other countries within the Southern African Development Community, a move Nowitz expects to make within the next two years. He notes the company has seen phenomenal growth of 1 000% in the past three years.
In addition, from next month, Syntech will beta test a business-to-business economic platform, which provides live links and information to e-tailers, says Nowitz.
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