Brother International South Africa officially opened its new building in Irene, north of Johannesburg, on Monday, 16 July 2012, with a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion. The event, attended by dignitaries from the Japanese Embassy to South Africa and Brother International Japan, not only celebrated the new building, but acknowledged a significant growth of the Brother brand and the company's range of quality printers, labellers and multifunction centres in the South African market.
“Key to the success of Brother International in South Africa are the established, long-lasting relationships with our supply partners built on mutual respect and understanding,” explained Wayne Everton, Director of Brother International South Africa. “I would like to thank you all for your support now and in the future, and look forward to our continued growth and success,” he continued.
From modest roots in 1970 and a staff complement of only two, Brother International South Africa has grown to be a key player in the printing and multifunction market in the country, with strategic distribution agreements with Mustek for printers and multifunction centres, and Kemtek for the range of labelling products. The new building, equipped to accommodate the now 14-strong administration and sales staff, allows for the continual expansion of both the product offering as well as staff, and addresses the need for training and product demonstration in the 80 square metre showroom.
In a keynote address, Yutaka Yoshizawa, Honourable Ambassador of Japan to South Africa, welcomed the new office as a central point to the company's activities in sub-Saharan Africa, and commended Brother International on its pioneering spirit and commitment to a customer-first approach to business.
At the official ribbon-cutting, Tetsuo Watanabe, Representative Director and President of Brother International Corporation (Japan), reflected on the changes in the South African operation since 2009, and announced a growth in turnover of 151% in the period 2009 to 2012.
“South Africa is considered a key market for Brother International Gulf and the Asia Pacific region as a whole. With this new facility and competent staff, we look forward to continued growth of the operation in the southern Africa region,” Watanabe concluded.
A significant milestone in the recent growth of Brother's market share is the growing demand for personal and business printing solutions that encourage efficiency and environmental responsibility. In a move designed to meet this need, Mustek, the largest supplier of personal computers in South Africa, has signed an agreement with Makro to distribute the Brother range of printers in all 16 stores in the country.
“We felt that Makro would be the best channel to enter the retail space in South Africa. Consumers now have easy access to these great products and will benefit from the extended hours of Makro to get consumables outside of normal trading hours,” says Dale de Villiers, sales and marketing manager at Brother International South Africa.
The printer range available in Makro stores includes three inkjet multifunction centres, of which one is a full A3 model, two mono-laser printers, a multifunction mono-laser printer and two colour multifunction laser printers.
“Internationally, Brother is the top-selling printer in the retail space in several regions, including New Zealand and Australia. Having excelled in the government and corporate sectors in South Africa, it is one of our key brands. We are very excited to make the printers available to the local retail market where we know it will do well,” says Paul Norris, Brother Product manager at Mustek.
Share
Editorial contacts