Smollan Group acquires Durban company

Oskar Kirchner, executive director – KNOW Market Intelligence, Smollan BrandActive and Smollan Fieldmarketing Plus, says the success Compass has achieved in under a decade has been remarkable. “Their accomplishments are laudable, which is why Smollan took notice of Compass. We fully expect Compass to grow even faster through this acquisition, and the company's clients to benefit in equal measure,” says Kirchner.

Compass's team and their roles, services, facilities, and networks will remain in place. Compass's business is complementary to that of Smollan: both companies operate in the FMCG market and both are known for activating client brands, image-building, sampling and sales promotions in retail stores and shopping malls.

Compass, however, moves Smollan into a more innovative space with regards to brand activation with consumers. It is more of a marketing-facing organisation and is able to take a brand activation project from conceptualisation with a marketing department to the interface with the consumer. Its clients include many divisions of Unilever, Illovo, Nestle and Kimberley-Clark, to mention a few.

The acquisition provides Compass with the ability to immediately tap into the technologies Smollan has in place, and is continually developing, as well as the support, client base and collective knowledge of a business with a 76-year track record in retail. Smollan is allegedly recognised as a benchmark operation in the route-to-market business in South Africa.

“Smollan also has great international contacts which will enrich our product development and create offerings and opportunities,” says Simms. “We are all excited about the business entering a new phase, and we look forward to what the future will bring together.”