We have detected that the browser you are using is no longer supported. As a result, some content may not display correctly.
We suggest that you upgrade to the latest version of any of the following browsers:
close notification
Date
: 20/04/2005
Source: Ministry of Trade and Industry
Title: Hendricks: Launch of El Cortes Ingles South Africa
Month
Speaking notes for Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Lindiwe
Hendricks at media launch of El Cortes Ingles
HE Ambassador Mazarambroz from the Spanish Embassy in South
Africa
HE Ambassador Rakwena
Yvonne Johnston, CEO of the International Marketing Council
Representatives from SAA and El Cortes Ingles
Programme Director
Members of the press
Introduction and background
Thank you for attending this media launch of South Africa's
participation in the El Cortes Ingles South Africa Month. For those
of you who are not aware, El Cortes Ingles is the largest
department store group in Spain, and also have a presence in
Portugal. We are fortunate to have a representative from this group
and the Spanish Ambassador to South Africa who can explain more
about the company.
This project that we are launching to the public today started in
2003 when Deputy President Zuma, accompanied by myself visited
Spain on a State visit. The El Cortes Ingles chain approached us
with an idea of having a South Africa Month in their department
stores where they would stock South African products, promote South
Africa as a tourist destination, and would have in-store South
African promotions in the form of music, artists and businesspeople
from South Africa.
El Cortes Ingles were looking for endorsement from the South
African government to hold this promotion, as well as, support from
us on the arrangements in South Africa. The dti, along with other
government departments agreed to provide this support as a means to
promote exports as well as assist some of our smaller businesses
with exporting. The dti also agreed to attend the launch in Spain
and Portugal, where I will be opening the promotion, as well as
assist with the travel arrangements for some of the businesses who
are travelling to Spain. The other partners in this project –
the Department of Foreign Affairs, the International Marketing
Council and South African Airways - will shortly be informing you
about their commitments to this promotion, as well as more about
what will be taking place in Spain in a few weeks time.
The support for the arrangements in South Africa were co-ordinated
by the Trade and Investment South Africa division of the dti, and
were done in partnership with the other organisations that I have
mentioned, as well as Tourism SA and the Department of Arts and
Culture. These domestic activities involved hosting the senior
buyers from El Cortes Ingles, organising an exhibition at the
Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg where the buyers were able to meet
with the potential suppliers and view their products, as well as
working with the potential suppliers. There has also been ongoing
work over the past year to ensure that everything goes
smoothly.
Role of Government
It is clear from what I have outlined that the South African
government and its agencies, by working with El Cortes Ingles, have
played a key role in making this 'South Africa Month' happen, and
assisting close to 100 businesses with exporting. Many of these
businesses are small enterprises and would not have had this
opportunity had it not been for our intervention; and while some
companies are already in the export market, they had not identified
the opportunity of selling their products in Spain. The time spent
on this project has been significant for the project team involved;
however, it has been worthwhile. This project will result in
immediate export orders to the value of approximately R30 million
and for some of the businesses involved it will also result in
long-term orders from El Cortes Ingles. In addition, we look
forward to receiving many more Spanish tourists in South
Africa.
The interventions made in this project form part of our broader
commitment to supporting exports from South Africa, to assisting
small businesses access international opportunities, to increasing
tourism, and to marketing our country in important international
locations.
Challenges
Programme director, a project of this nature where we are
assisting, in some instances, first time exporters, is going to
have its challenges. These challenges reflect some of the broader
problems that our exporters are facing. We have seen during the
course of the project that many of the initial group of companies
who were identified as potential suppliers did not make the grade
in terms of quality, uniqueness or style. From those who met the
initial requirements of El Cortes Ingles, we saw that some could
not meet the quantities required and some could not meet the price
set by the department store buyers. The issues of the strong Rand
became a factor for some of the suppliers who were forced to
withdraw from the negotiations.
As the dti we need to confront these issues so that in our
interventions we are able to work with businesses to address issues
of quality, design, and production efficiencies. We also recognise
that it is difficult for a small business to export and there are a
number of hurdles that need to be overcome in this area. It is
costly, time consuming and requires a great deal of dedication and
commitment for a business to be successful in the export market.
However, we are seeing companies both big and small, taking on
these challenges and responding very well.
At the end of the day, approximately 100 businesses are exporting
their products to Spain through this project. We are also seeing
these businesses exporting several thousand units of their
products.
The dti, in partnership with a number of organisations, and through
our export assistance programmes, our EMIA grants, and our trade
missions, are available to assist businesses overcome the hurdles
and either start or expand their exports.
Conclusion
To conclude, I would like to congratulate all of those involved,
particularly the small businesses, some of whom had to work day and
night to meet the orders. I look forward to visiting Spain and
Portugal next month to officially open the promotion, which lasts
from 20 May to 11 June 2005. I believe that as a result of this
project, the publicity that we receive in Spain and the increase in
Spanish tourists visiting South Africa, we will be brought closer
to Spain, and it will result in an improvement in the political,
social and economic relations between our two countries.
Finally, what we have seen in this project is the importance of
partnerships. The contribution of each partner to this project has
made it a success, and I thank each organisation and the
individuals involved for the role that they have played.
Thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Trade and Industry
20 April 2005
Map
