Our team in South Africa has cause for celebration this month. It’s 15 years since ASL Global set up its first office in Cape Town and since then, our presence in this important market has grown every year. ASL Global is now the leading marketing services provider in the region, with offices in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Nigeria, Kenya and Dubai. ASL employs an experienced and diverse team of people in the MEA region, including a dedicated creative product design team based in South Africa.
ASL Global was recently appointed to manage the marketing goods spend for a large global drinks brand in the region, helping to expand its reach in the wider Middle East & Africa marketplace.
Kirsten Port, ASL Sales Manager for MEA, reflects on the past 15 years “It’s been a fantastic experience building up our presence in this region. We started small, with just one office in Cape Town, but as we developed relationships with more clients our business grew quickly.
We now work with some great consumer brands including Coca-Cola, Beiersdorf, Spur, Heineken, Diageo, Coty & Shell, covering a wide range of indirect marketing spend categories. This gives us the opportunity to get involved in some very interesting campaigns. We love the varied nature of our work, we never know what we will be asked for next; our clients are always open to exploring new ideas and concepts with our creative team”.
ASL’s business has grown rapidly in the region since first established in 2005. The team has developed a robust network of local suppliers to help deliver the wide range of promotional marketing products required by their clients within extremely tight deadlines. Supporting the South Africa economy by utilising local suppliers is a top priority for the MEA business, and ASL proactively supports the Proudly South African homegrown product initiative.
This local supply base, coupled with ASL’s Far East manufacturing capabilities, provides a flexible and competitive supply chain. ASL’s sustainability strategy is also supported by this flexible approach - large volumes are consolidated globally to help optimise production capacity, with smaller, bespoke requirements sourced within the local supplier network, helping to reduce each product’s carbon footprint.
Kirsten also spoke about the culture within her team “We’ve built such a strong and diverse business here in South Africa. We’re proud to have BBEEE Level 2 status, and our team is 75% women who all do an amazing job. ASL has a very inclusive culture, everyone here has the opportunity to develop personally and professionally. We’re very happy to celebrate 15 years of growth, and with more expansion planned for the future, it’s an exciting time for the whole South Africa team”.
Do you operate a business in South Africa looking to source innovative, compliant and sustainable marketing promotional goods? Contact us today to see how we can help to inspire your customers and build your brand.
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