Sep 22, 2019 | By Susan
Benefits of supporting and investing in local
As South Africans, we don’t survive, we thrive and there’s nothing like a strict lockdown to give us some vooma in our entrepreneurial tanks! Covid paved the way for local businesses to step-up within a struggling economy, seeing bigger orders, more customers and higher profit margins because of smart – localised – choices. This created new jobs, entrepreneurs and innovation we haven’t seen in a long time. If there is one thing South Africans know how to do well, it’s to look on the bright side!
As we embrace our Heritage this month – which not only includes a steak on the braai – we need to remind ourselves why we need to shop local and as business owners, support local suppliers and craftsmen (and women). One said Sleep Supplier – and the only comfort adjustable mattress in South Africa – Sloom, wears the South African stamp with pride! Like the resilience of our country, Sloom is built to last, and backs this up with a 25-year service warranty. “Buying local shortens the distance between the manufacturer and consumer, which means the distribution cost gets cut significantly. Thus quality doesn’t have to be compromised to make up for the cost of distribution and a smaller carbon footprint is left. It’s a win for all involved!” says founder of Sloom, Rudo Kemp.
There are an array of benefits businesses attribute to ‘keeping it local’, let’s delve a little deeper:
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Employment: by employing and growing your team locally, you are providing job opportunities for those who have the skills to make the magic! “100% of our workforce are South Africans, and we are incredibly proud of that. Our team is our brand and we are Proudly South African!” says Rudo.
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Lower environmental impact and smaller carbon footprint: “with a shorter distance between the manufacturer, supplier and the consumer, we are seeing a much smaller carbon footprint for all, which is a wonderful step in the right direction. We are incredibly proud of staying true to our roots and being 100% locally made.” he adds.
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Skills development: teaching and learning as the team grows is a crucial part in adding value to our local workmen and women. “We do in-house development – a great example is Levona who started out as a cleaner and soon started helping the team with packaging. Later on, she also learned to work the sewing machine and now works it like a pro! All our staff members get trained to use any new equipment which is added to the process.” says Design Director, Susan Kemp.
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Quicker, more efficient delivery: “A Sloom mattress is compressed and shipped in a box from our distribution warehouses in Midrand and Cape Town. Compression reduces the volume of our mattress by 70% and significantly reduces the cost element of logistics which means the end-consumer pays less. Orders are either sent via a courier service, or when a customer requests Express Delivery we deliver it with our own Sloom vans. Testament to the excellent quality of our foams, the mattress fully recovers after you take it out of its packaging.” says Rudo.
Shopping local not only means that you have a much clearer idea of the product’s origin story and its efforts towards sustainability, but you can know for sure, the person seeing your sale is probably the founder as well. Successful businesses start very small, and have seen a long journey to success – often the overnight success we see has taken 10 years.
By investing in other local suppliers and businesses, bigger proudly South African brands, are paving the way for their ultimate success. Because, Ubuntu!
