African Safari
A Win-Win Situation
.S. Ramesh,
Senior Manager (International) of the Security Equipment Division, and I
were on a tour of Ghana and Nigeria in July 2005. In Nigeria we met with
two prospective dealers — M/s. Sitrep Nigeria Limited and M/s. Nagode
International Products Limited.
We had to decide who to appoint as the dealer for Security Equipment products. Sitrep had good relations with some major banks, while Nagode had a strong hold on the various segments of the market. We did not want to lose either of the dealers as both were assets to us.
After some negotiation, we managed to convince both the dealers to support and complement each other, which would be a win-win situation for all three of us. Once they were convinced, we brought both the parties together and had an open discussion during which all their doubts were clarified. The meeting was attended by Kingsley Nwoha of Sitrep, and Peeyush Garg and Lok Kumar of NIPL.
We can now
concentrate on the market with both dealers working hand in hand to
achieve the set goals. While Sitrep will focus on Godrej Strong Doors
and Godrej Safe Deposit Lockers, NIPL will promote all other Godrej
Security Equipment products such as fire-resisting filing cabinets,
fire-resisting record cabinets, data safes, cash boxes and coffers.
Whenever NIPL come across an enquiry for strong doors or lockers they
will either pass the enquiry on to Sitrep or get the material from
Sitrep. Similarly, if Sitrep receives an enquiry for fire-resisting
filing cabinets, cash boxes, coffers, etc., they will either hand over
the enquiry to NIPL or get the material from NIPL.
An added bonus of our visit was that one of our competitors, M/s. Gubabi
& Co. Ltd., was so impressed with our presentation that its Chairman,
Sir Goziem Chibeze, agreed to buy our products for display in his
showroom!
From left: Representatives of NIPL, Lok Kumar and Peeyush Garg with
Fredrick Correa of Godrej, Kenya and Kingsley
Nwoha, representative of Sitrep.
How Mild Are The Wild?
he other day I visited the National Zoo in Nairobi with
my daughter and a friend. We were taken around to see a number of
animals such as lions, opened the gate and invited us in. While
my friend said that he was quite comfortable outside, my daughter and I
stepped in. To compound our fear, the attendant closed the gate behind
us to ensure that the cheetahs did not venture out.
At Nairobi’s National Zoo
Once inside, the attendant started caressing the cheetahs and invited us to do so too. Mustering all our courage, we hesitantly touched one of the cheetahs, all of whom were resting on the ground. Bolder now, we began stroking it.
The attendant agreed to arrange for one of the staff to take a photograph of us, so that we would have documentary proof of our bravery. While we were inside the enclosure, a large crowd had gathered, watching not just the cheetahs but also the crazy Indians in the cage with them. After leaving the enclosure, my daughter and I could not believe that we had been inside. We had to admit, those cheetahs were really friendly and mild.
Fredrick
Correa
Godrej, Kenya