Industry news

Why can't the industry stay organised?

After more than seventy years, secretary Hector McRae is winding down the business of South Africa’s longest lasting sports industry organisation: the SA Sports Goods Agents and Manufacturers (SASGAM) association.

According to notes kept by his father Angus McRae, the first secretary, the first meeting by members of the SA sporting goods industry was held on November 8th 1934, when golf and tennis ball suppliers formed a committee to address issues pertaining to the SA market. It was, however, only after the war, in 1949, that the SA Sports Goods Agents and Manufacturers committee, comprising "the majority of sports goods agents and manufacturers" was formed. SASGAM started with nine members, who in those days "ran" the industry — according to an early issue of Sports Trader, they even controlled "the supply as well as appointment of new retail sports traders and controlled the percentage mark ups on retail prices."

At that stage SASGAM was run like a gentleman’s club: prospective members had to be proposed and seconded and were accepted only if they complied with a strict set of rules set out in a confidential Statement of Principals. In 1985 chairman Tex van Beuge explained that this was because the "organisation" started as a group of friends who came together to discuss mutual concerns and who had invested money into the ogranisation — they therefore only admitted new "friends" recommended by members.

"SASGAM as I knew it was a body of good fellowship that operated in a wonderful spirit of camaraderie," remembers Pat Wiltshire, who chaired SASGAM four times between 1977 and 1993 and several times served as vice-chairman. "SASGAM and its association was a forum in which we could promote contact and encourage a spirit of mutual understanding, where we could exchange opinions and marketing information."

In the 1990s

By 1990 SASGAM had grown to 19 members — with five of the original founding companies still involved, namely C Ambler-Smith Sales, Ajay Sports, Dunlop & Slazenger, Invincible and Tatlow & Pledger — and had become the voice of the industry.

SASGAM chair Brian Lidgey told Sports Trader in July 1990 that "along with SASTAF we are involved with the government on permit issues. Credit control and our world standard trade show are two of the major functions, but we have also endeavoured to raise funds for any deserving cause, which has included scholarships and contributing to funds designed to help those people who may have fallen on hard times.

"We are undertaking a market survey to professionally establish the size of the SA sports market and market shares."

But, gathering statistics remains a headache to today and a noble objective that had not been easy to realise.

"No one trusted the others and thought that the information could be used against them," says John Pledger, who served several terms as chairman during the 80s and 90s and also organised the SASGAM Show for several years. "This distrust continued until we devised a system that protected the information from being used against us or our individual members."

Tony O’Hagan, who chaired the organisation in the mid-1990s remembers SASGAM as a powerful instrument in the sports industry during that period. "It was the official sports body that liaised with government on issues such as duties and other related matters. It further encompassed a platform providing harmonization of trade policies and support to retailers," he says. "SASGAM’s contribution to the sports industry included a highly successful trade show, which was of benefit particularly to rural and independent retailers."

The SASGAM Show

The first SASGAM Show was held in a function room in the Park Royal Hotel in Joubert Park in the 1960s, progressed tentatively to the Tollman Towers Hotel and finally flexed its muscles when it moved to the Old Milner Park show grounds and the Johannesburg National Exhibition Centre (Nasrec) in the mid-1990s.

The first SASGAM constitution was adopted as late as June 1995, when the committee of friends formally became an association with the emphasis in company membership, rather than individual members.

While SASGAM represented the suppliers, retailer interests were served by the SA Sports Traders’ Federation (SASTAF), founded in 1948. The annual AGM, a jolly affair attended by 80-100 members, were held at venues like the Fish River Sun, and coincided with a SASGAM meeting so that joint sessions could be held. These conventions ended with sports days — golf and bowls — and plenty of partying.

"There was a fantastic sense of camaraderie and bridge building," Wiltshire recollects. "In those days the industry was like a pyramid with, in the left bottom corner SASGAM, in the right corner retailer body SAFTAF and at the top where the two arms meet, SASGI — the SA sporting goods industry."

The following quote by SASTAF committee member Rodney Lemkus from a 1984 Sports Trader illustrates that nothing much had changed in the retail industry: "I don’t want to sound like a prophet of doom, but the general sports dealer is gripped in a vice between the mass merchants and the speciality shops, and our market is shrinking."

Wholesale buying group

These fears probably prompted some leading retailers to form a wholesale buying group, Intersport, which is still trading under this name in the UK. They opened their own warehouse and imported exclusive specialised products that they believed would enable them to compete with emerging mass discounters like the Hypermarkets … not surprisingly, this was not welcomed by the SASGAM members.

"That spelled the end of the retail association," is Wiltshire’s belief. "There were too many independents with their own interests and key players in the retail association had their own business interests."

O’Hagan thinks SASTAF eventually became a club where common interests no longer existed. "In the days gone by, it had a strong independent retailer base, but the advent of the large chain stores altered all that. The objectives of the members were of a differing nature, resulting in the demise of SASTAF."

Pledger believes the problem was that there were too many traders, yet no-one was prepared to put in the time and effort to make the organisation work.

A year after SASTAF was disbanded in 1990, the National Sports Goods Association of SA (NSGA) — comprising both suppliers and retailers — was formed in June 1991. The aim of the new combined organisation was to "research trends and the needs of SA sport and to collate data, to promote increased sports participation through liaison with sporting bodies and to further develop SAs sporting goods business."

The emphasis was on the new role of the industry on the eve of South Africa’s return to the international community.

Regional co-ordinating bodies were elected and the national committee, chaired by Hans Hawinkels of the Intersport buying group, included Tony O’Hagan (adidas) as vice-chair, Dave Stewart (Logans Sportsman’s Warehouse), Bruce Baker (Brian Bands Wholesale), Andrew King (Kings Sport), Rupert Klemp, Martin Nefdt and Colin van Jaarsveldt (Dunlop/Slazenger).

Within the next four months, 51 companies joined at regional launches. The following year they held a conference to coincide with the Comrades Marathon and also sponsored a tennis series and held an AGM at the start of the SASGAM show.

In 1992 the NSGA under Colin van Jaarsveld attempted to co-ordinate the collection of data relating to market size (number of units coming onto the market) on about a dozen different categories of sporting goods — making market size figures available only to the firms submitting figures.

And then, suddenly, it was disbanded. The reason? The organisation’s objectives were too high, national committee member Colin van Jaarsveldt wrote in Sports Trader of July/August 1993 … but, at a meeting held at the Wild Coast Sun, it was unanimously agreed that there was a real need to have a loosely knit body to collect industry statistics and to represent the sporting goods business at government level.

A working committee to represent the industry, suppliers and retailers, was elected during this meeting. There were three suppliers — Brian Lidgey (BLA Sport), Tony O’Hagan (adidas) and Colin van Jaarsveldt (Dunlop/Slazenger) — and three retail representatives Dave Stewart (Logans), Andy King (Kings Sports) and Alan Yates (Makro). They would address issues like possible affiliation with SASGAM and the inclusion of suppliers outside SASGAM.

A new retail body, the SA Sports Traders’ Association (SASTA), was launched in May 1996 because of a perceived need "to address certain problems in the local sports industry" — among them illegitimate imports and unscrupulous wholesalers. They wanted to establish better communication between retailers and wholesalers, possibly create smaller sub-groups within the organisation and to confront the problem of grey imports. But, despite the laudable objectives, this association also just faded away.

In the meantime, SASGAM continued in its stride, admitting new member companies as prominent players emerged and in the late 1990s returned to the "new South Africa" — notably footwear brands establishing their own offices instead of distributing through licensees.

After the turn of the century the SASGAM member profile changed. Long-standing members — and many of the founder members — retired or resigned and instead of a body representing the sports equipment suppliers, the footwear brand members became the majority.

In many sporting codes there were more prominent suppliers outside SASGAM, than members, so that the association could no longer claim to speak on behalf of these industry sectors. The one exception was international footwear brands, where most of the top players were represented.

Profile changed

When Nike’s Ross Smith became chairman in 2002 he announced an aggressive campaign to re-invent the organisation — making membership more representative of the industry, opening it up to all, providing statistics through employing discreet experts, involving retailers, lobbying government and fighting counterfeits, arranging an awards banquet, fund raising and community involvement. He also attempted to incorporate retailers.

But, during the last few years member attendance at meetings dwindled to the extent that there were often not a quorum present, not even to select a new chairperson. Only a handful of SASGAM members exhibited when the SASGAM Show was resurrected in 2005 after a seven year absence — and hardly any of them returned when the show was held again last year.

"SASGAM could have adapted by maintaining a community of fellowship and goodwill and trust, but the management style of certain chairmen alienated the hard core of members," says Wiltshire. "The dominance of footwear distributors caused a division between hardware and footwear members in SASGAM and alienated some older members."

But, any organization has to adapt to new trends and the evolution of the industry, says Tony O’Hagan, who retired in 2002. "It is of no value to become "frozen in the past".

His remedy for saving the organisation would have been: "Members need to sit around the table and identify the needs of all members, not just the powerful few, and from this foundation seek issues of common interest. The criteria for membership should be redefined as well as future objectives and goals."

While SASGAM was declining, another industry body — for the fishing tackle industry — was gaining a life of its own.

When SASGAM decided to join forces with the organisers of a new consumer show, the SuperSport Show, in 1999, the fishing tackle exhibitors objected because they did not want to market to consumers. Pledger was asked to leave SASGAM, because the SASGAM constitution (then) required all committee members to exhibit when the association supported a trade show.

Two former SASGAM exhibitors Mike Philip of The Kingfisher and Trevor Beamont of DAM and Silstar decided to hire a room at the Eskom Conference Centre in Johannesburg and invite their customers for a mini-show of their fishing tackle. This became a roller-coaster as more and more exhibitors clamoured to become part of the show. With forty-odd exhibitors vying for space, it was not a question of filling boots, but of fitting everyone in.

As the word spread, more and more retailers came to visit, view and place orders. Last year more than 400 buyers from more than 200 tackle stores attended.

By 2003 it became obvious that the show had willed a life of its own and that Mike Philip desperately needed help with organising what had grown into a vibrant trade show. A committee was formed to organise the next show — who became the fishing tackle industry committee a year later.

The organisation was named the SA Fishing Tackle Trade Association (SAFTTA) and several objectives were identified. Mike Philip asked to be excused from the committee and Alan Cunningham became chair and ex-officio show organiser.

Last year, Cunningham stepped down as chairman to devote more time to his business and John Pledger was elected as the new chairman of the new, more formalised industry body, renamed the SA Fishing Tackle Agents and Distributors association (SAFTAD).

Why was the fishing tackle organisation growing at a time when SASGAM was declining? "The fishing tackle members have lots of gees plus a willingness to cooperate to make things better," says Pledger. "Also we are working on the KISS system, we are keeping things totally uncomplicated."

There’s an enthusiastic committee that just gets on with the job and there are no bickering between the members, says Cunningham.