Dunlop Tyres, the oldest and longest surviving tyre brand in South Africa with deep ties to KwaZulu-Natal and now part of a global tyre conglomerate, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, is on the hunt for 48 entrepreneurs, writes Jonathan Erasmus.
This is the plan. The firm wants the lucky 48 entrepreneurs to get involved in their decade-long Business in a Box franchise model where successful candidates take ownership of a fully fitted 12-metre Dunlop branded container complete with equipment, retail software, start-up stock, and point-of-sale material. Each container includes a reception area, a workshop with tyre-changing equipment, and a storage facility stocked with tyres to enable trading from the very first day of business.
Lubin Ozoux, CEO of Sumitomo Rubber SA (SRSA), said Dunlop had a history of entrepreneurship going back over 130 years.
“We’ve had great success with our Dunlop container project which was started in 2012 to drive sustainable township entrepreneurship and promote safety on the road. SRSA is presently the only tyre manufacturing company in South Africa with a township and rural area enterprise development programme, and we are serious about playing a role in tackling high unemployment of around 33%, the majority of which is young people in rural areas and townships.”
Ozoux said the Dunlop container project had enabled informal tyre businesses – often trading from makeshift, roadside facilities – to be transformed into proper Dunlop-branded fitment centres, adding that the company’s goal was to “transform the informal township secondhand tyre traders into formal reputable businesses”.
Entrepreneurs receive the funding and support they need to run their own tyre businesses, offering fitment, repairs, wheel balancing and rotation, and more.
“It’s all about finding the right entrepreneurs and ensuring they are equipped to be successful and well supported for their journey, including technical, sales, business and back-office training and development.”
Ozoux said the longer-term vision was to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses to service larger clients.
According to SRSA, the programme offers a “plug-and-play solution” through which shortlisted candidates will be linked up with recommended funders to apply for total funding to set up their own Dunlop fi tment centres. By becoming franchisees, they will be part of a growing network of over 80 Dunlop container outlets, 16 of which are in KwaZulu-Natal, employing around 400 people across the country. Each container is valued at between R380 000 and R460 000 depending on the equipment and transportation requirements.
Itumeleng Mojafi, Group Business Development Manager at Sumitomo said: “We want to make it easy for local people to do business selling tyres, and to bring quality, affordable tyres to communities who need safer, more reliable tyre products. More importantly, it’s about creating employment and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit that lives within our local communities.
SRSA is owned by Japanese listed company Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd (SRI). The existing SA plant in Ladysmith was founded in 1973 and currently produces passenger car, sport utility vehicle, light truck and truck and bus radial tyres, which are sold in SA and exported across Africa and abroad. Dunlop built its fi rst tyre manufacturing facility in Durban in 1935.
