AND1 back in South Africa
March 7, 2009 in Other
AND1 is back in South Africa and the brand has been entrusted to DarkChild Productions. “We are very excited to have a brand that has been a part of basketball for years back in South Africa” says Cabby Magongwa (owner of DarkChild Productions). Magongwa says that this business is something that he looked to be a part of since he started DarkChild Productions in 2004 and finally the dream has come true. “Perhaps it was for a good course that it had to take this long for us to acquire the rights to distribute this magnificent brand, and this is thanks to Mike Merafe for introducing to me the opportunity through his American Sporting Goods contacts” says Magongwa.
DarkChild Productions has perfectly positioned itself as the one of the biggest basketball marketing companies in SA and association with a brand like AND1 was inevitable. AND1 is a great brand with high street credibility. One must be very cautiously excited about the brand considering the fact that it has been in the SA market and was withdrawn before. It may be a struggle to gain retailer confidence on the brand, but we plan to grow it slowly over time by entrenching it back into the heart of the SA basketball and hip hop market. In order to diversify the brand, we are also looking to market it firmly into the hip hop lifestyle fraternity particularly the dancers and fans alike. We believe that we will grow AND1 to be a multimillion Rand business especially since we have been given the rights to market it to 11 other countries in Africa including Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Angola, Nigeria, Cameroon, to name a few…
Although the rest of Africa is in our growth strategy, we have not actively looked for agents in these countries just yet, however, if there are people interested in investing in this business in these countries, we are more than happy to engage in further talks.
We are very excited about AND1 and the brand is expected to be in stores near you in the next month or two. For those who cannot wait to buy from the stores, DarkChild Productions will be selling a limited range of shoes and apparel out of its offices based in Nasrec, at Joburg Expo Center, Gate 2, The Auditorium building, office 3, around the beginning of April. The opening day with great discounts will be communicated to you in due course.
For more, please contact Cabby Magongwa 011 494 1118 during office hours.
Information by Manny Mabusa and edited by Victor Shakineza
