Name will change, but
spirit will remain
WHEN SAFMARINE bought the balance of shares in CMB-Transport from CMB nv in 1998 it couldn't buy the brand name CMBT because of its similarity to that of the former owner.
Safmarine had access to the brand name until next June in terms of the original purchase contract - but that's not to be.
As part of its programme to spotlight Safmarine as the single global brand the line, and shareholder A P Moller, intend to withdraw the name CMBT before the end of the year.
But, while Safmarine has been, and will continue to be, an integral part of SA maritime lore - so CMBT has been deeply rooted in the shipping consciousness of a number of countries since the old colonial days.
This is a re-branding
challenge for the line.
And, although the challenge applies equally to all the CMBT branded business, there are those certain areas where the name is an historic part of the seafreight industry.
It's probably in the Francophone areas of West Africa where the identity-change will exercise Safmarine minds most fully - as the names CMBT or its former parent, CMB, have been respected there since colonial times.
Thus, said Safmarine media consultant, Richard Warnes, we will shortly take up the challenge of informing our customers directly, and via the media, that while the name may change, the people and the spirit remain.
In fact, there will be benefits for customers since there will be access to a wider resource base of ships, containers, information systems and intermodal facilities through the backing of powerful new shareholder, A P Moller.
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