After doing business in South Africa for years Triplar decided to visit Johannesburg to determine what other opportunities could be derived from cooperation with our clients, design agencies, freight forwarders and local production facilities.

Despite some of the economic challenges faced in the country, it was apparent that there is real excitement about the future of retail in the country. And although Africa is still categorised as an emerging market by most brands, South Africa has proven itself as a valuable market for any global brand wishing to expand into the continent.

Triplar realised that some of the preconceptions of South African companies providing similar solutions were not entirely correct.  Some of the businesses visited included long-standing, local design and production firms who have been thriving in the local market for decades. Alongside the global cargo freight operators shipping to the country, it quickly became apparent that the country has very favourable conditions and facilities for retail development projects.

Triplar MD Tim Rodwell said: “What appealed to Triplar’s interests in particular was the level of quality output we’ve seen in local manufacturing.  We prototyped items from a long running concept that our EU facilities have fine-tuned over the past five years and were delighted to see high-quality results.

“Not only were these chosen manufactures able to produce what we’d asked within a very short time frame, they were also able to quickly adapt our needs into solutions and match materials with those available locally.

“We can now see South Africa is a fertile environment within which to replicate our business model and offer a greater reach to existing and new clients in Africa.”