Americans already suffer international ridicule for being jingoists who don`t see the need to go beyond their own borders, and if they do, immediately ask: "Gibt`s hier ein McDonalds?" I can recall endless movies espousing the benefits of buying American, also to non-Americans.
In SA, global brands are creeping up on local ones, which have enjoyed dominance in apartheid years.
Carel Alberts, Technology editor, ITWeb
We laugh at this transparent need for self-protection, self-promotion and self-styled leadership. Watch almost any Tom Cruise movie, for instance, and you`ll see the painful Hollywood habit of bestowing super-human qualities on the American movie hero (in The Firm he did flick flacks, unearthed conspiracies and got the girl, all in a day`s work). What Americans increasingly call "anti-Americanism" is in my view often just a refusal to have our intelligence insulted any more than is necessary.
South Africans may laugh at this, but recent incidents suggest we are not immune to protectionism. Challenges to our understanding of the Proudly South African (PSA) initiative, for example, suggest we have to guard against becoming as insular in our thinking as any American, Parisian waiter or Australian rugby commentator. And we have to ask: do we need our economy to persist in dated mode or do we compete out in the open?
Dissension in the ranks
Within the current set of PSA rules, global brand HP and its products do not enjoy accreditation. But after an initial spat over HP calling its product Proudly South African, then withdrawing the claim, it appears this could change.
From PSA`s workshop with industry players - including global brands, it appears that other matters merit consideration. For one thing, HP and other vendors` investment in local manufacturing and social causes have the benefits of local business development and job creation, both of which lie at the heart of the PSA movement. In the near future, these factors may play a part in future accreditations.
HP has pulled off quite a feat here. Cleverly, it outsourced to a PSA-accredited partner, in itself possibly enough to satisfy black empowerment obligations, multinational style. The recent empowerment charter indaba in Sandton revealed a vocal, high-profile view that equity-equivalent efforts (such as black partnerships and job-creating investment) may be enough for international brands that cannot, for whatever reasons, give equity to local groups.
HP further associated itself with a PSA member, and the sticker on its product says words to that effect, meaning the d230 PC will be good enough in almost any SA buyer`s book. What may have rankled some local brands could be the fact that HP is from nowhere near these parts.
Since the retraction, are SA brands still miffed with it? Grudgingly, they have to accept that its strategy is a marketing coup, since it enjoys the prestige of association with a PSA member.
HP`s deep marketing pockets, support from local assemblers and international brand recognition will in addition almost certainly make it succeed in its quest to conquer the elusive and alluring SME market. It also manufactures at low cost, backed by a quality brand.
Brand creep
Seem unfair? Not really. And it may get "worse". Regions like the UK already show global brands enjoy far better market share than local ones. In SA, global brands are creeping up on local ones, which have enjoyed dominance in apartheid years. Could it be, as one commentator remarks, that we are ultimately headed for the same situation as in the UK?
And to make matters harder (and more competitive), PSA is considering ways of changing accreditation criteria without compromising core principles of the initiative. For one thing, the percentage of local content required is likely to come down, perhaps to a similar degree as the automotive industry (from 50% to 30%). HP, which sources memory from Kalliba, a PSA member, is on the right path. How many local brands do that? Do we even know there are two PSA-accredited memory vendors?
Other issues that may contribute to a more lenient approach from the PSA are the questions whether repatriation of income from sales and a standoffish approach to manufacturing should be considered. It may just be that PSA accreditation will be a lot broader in due course, and it may be just around the corner. We had better be psychologically prepared for a far less cushy arrangement than we may have thought is our birthright.
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