Toy manufacturer, Zuru opens trade showroom in SA

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The further expansion into South Africa comes following several milestones and launches into the country, including XShot, Rainbocorns and Mini Brands.

Zuru’s trade showroom aims to showcase a mix of classic and current toy ranges as well as newly developed lines. In addition, the showroom will grow in the coming months to include a space for the Zuru Edge category of consumer goods across five key verticals including pet care, baby care, personal care, beauty, home care and health and wellness.

The showroom is based at Kyalamipark Business Park in Midrand, Johannesburg, where the local team is based. The location was selected as it is close to the Mall of Africa where majority of Zuru’s key customers have retail locations.

Glenn Ambrose, country manager at Zuru in South Africa said, the company which was founded in 2003 by siblings Nick, Anna and Matt Mowbray has grown into a $2.5bn business and continues to double-down on growth.

“Zuru currently has over 8,000 team members in over 34 global locations and is arguably one of the fastest growing and most disruptive companies in the world,” he added.

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“In South Africa, our growth plans are ambitious despite being a small market in terms of revenue when compared to US or Europe, however, we have lofty goals to be the best toy and consumer goods supplier in each and every market,” he explained. “We are currently a top five supplier in the South African toy industry, supplying all major retailers and the showroom is a space where we can connect and continue to forge growth with these business-to-business relationships.”

Ambrose said it’s a significant move which will afford its buying partners an opportunity to touch, see and feel the brands they are stocking in their stores.

“In South Africa our client base includes retailers like Toys R Us, Toy Kingdom, Toy Zone, Checkers, Game, Makro, Amazon and Takealot to name a few.”

“The company in South Africa is relatively small but services the rest of Africa including Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritius, Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe with negotiations currently underway with a number of West African countries,” he adds.

“Zuru is known for its innovation and is a well-respected family business with great customers and we believe that by opening up this showroom will position the business for further growth and future investment into pan-Africa.”

“We were excited to showcase our lineup, which will not only include toys but expanded products into our consumer goods, home and pet ranges in coming months,” he says.

“Establishing a showroom is a testament to our mission of continuing to bring innovative and exceptional value to the market.”

New popular product launches are expected later this year.