Despite a flat economy and lower volumes, Tigers South Africa is encouraged by growth prospects for the European market, thanks to an increased demand for perishable products.
Paul Lawrence, managing director of Tigers South Africa, said the company was fairly upbeat on Europe, especially with Tigers Fresh – the perishable division of the company – expecting to see good growth.
“The challenge is really in maintaining yields,” said Lawrence. “We try to stand out by paying close attention to detail. Over the past eight years, Tigers has progressed to e-commerce, giving us a competitive edge for the future. Consequently, as Africa continues to grow the omnifulfilment and B2C sectors, opportunities across the continent are very promising.”
Lawrence said the launch of the company’s eShop in China and Malaysia had been extremely successful, with a new one on the cards for Germany. “It has had a very positive impact on the wine and perishable markets. We recently opened a temperaturecontrolled wine cellar storage facility in the United Kingdom, focusing on the growth of specialised products of the South AfricaEU trade lane, adding value to our customers with our unique value proposition.”
He said the company had launched the wine cellar in Banbury and obtained licences to store and distribute wine and spirits in the UK, Germany and The Netherlands.
“We have top South African wineries on our doorstep, asking to sell directly to their customers,” he said. “Our Cologne e-commerce fulfilment centre that we opened only a year ago has already doubled in space due to increasing demand. Similarly, our flagship eTigers facility in Rotterdam almost doubled in space last year.”
Lawrence said the company would continue to strategically expand its footprint in Europe even if volumes in other commodities were expected to remain low.
“We are excited about the upcoming Tigers eShop plans for the EU, which will allow our customers’ brands to expand in the EU,” he said.
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The challenge is really in maintaining yields. – Paul Lawrence
