BDI, part of the Hudson Group, has extended its contract to represent Nike in 30 African countries until 2023. It will also extend its current warehouse facilities to continue developing its logistics hub in Malta, through which it serves Africa. 

Through BDI, Nike has a strong presence in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and is also present in a number of sub-Saharan countries including Nigeria, Angola, Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

Sean Harris, Nike general manager for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Distributors, who was in Malta for the extension of BDI’s contract, said:

“BDI professionalism as well as its ability to act with speed and efficiency have been instrumental in increasing the presence of Nike in Africa. BDI has a strong ability to understand cultural differences as well as team up with the right partner within the specific country.”

 Asked which African countries offered the greatest growth potential for Nike, Mr Harris replied:  “Africa as a continent has big potential for the Nike brand. Our key focus marketplaces will be Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Nigeria and Angola.”

Alfie Borg, CEO of the Hudson Group, said he was looking forward to setting new benchmarks in Nigeria and Angola to award consumers “with a premium shopping experience”.

Questioned about the type of marketing and other support Nike offers to Hudson in the sale of the brand in Africa, Mr Borg said:  “Being an international brand with strong brand guidelines, the overall Nike strategy is determined from head office, but since BDI are so in tune with the specific African markets, they then adapt them to maximise their effectiveness.”

Wouter Van Olm, Nike regional sales manager for Africa, who was also in Malta for the occasion, said Malta’s strategic geographic location as well as BDI’s strong reach have increased Nike’s distribution within a challenging continent. “The comprehensive knowledge of operating within the African region, as well as the Group’s tenacity and ability to employ the right marketing strategy, understand cultural sensitivities and select the right partners within the different territories, has helped Nike to perform positively in the African region.”

We will be building a state-of-the-art new Nike distribution centre that will enable us to cope with the African continent’s growing demand

The 30 countries where BDI represents Nike are: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Senegal, Madagascar, Gabon, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Benin, Mauritania, Guinea, Togo, Gambia, Liberia, Cape Verde, Seychelles, Guinea, Comoros, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Mr Borg explained the evolution of the brand in Africa. “The first pair of Nikes sold in Malta was in 1987. Following this, in 2004, we opened our first Nike store in Libya and since then the Nike brand has slowly but surely entrusted us to manage Nike’s representation in more African countries. Today, through its head office in Malta as well as its subsidiary companies in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, BDI manages most of Africa as far as sales, marketing and distribution go.

“A couple of years ago, BDI was entrusted to manage a Nike distribution centre in Malta which services the African market. Since then, as orders increased, we have outgrown the current space available. Therefore, in 2018/2019, with the help of Malta Enterprise, we will be building a state-of-the-art new Nike distribution centre that will enable us to cope with the African continent’s growing demand for at least the next decade,” explained Mr Borg.

Hudson Group is an international retailer and distributor primarily involved in the sport and fashion wear sectors. The Group’s head office is in Malta but is also present through offices in Italy, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. 

In Malta, Hudson Group is the leading retailer and distributor of sportswear products. Besides Nike it represents numerous sport brands such as Converse, Timberland, Crocs, Eastpak, New Era plus franchisees of GoSport from France. It also owns its our own franchise concepts, Urban Jungle and House of Sport. In the fashion world Hudson serves the fast fashion market in Malta through New Look, River Island, United Colors of Benetton, 3INA and Kiabi. 

Internationally, the Group currently has a direct retail presence in Europe and Africa. Urban Jungle, its own home grown sneaker store, has been taken internationally across European and North African cities. This sneaker store concept is present in top cities (www.urbanjunglestore.it) including Milan, Rome, Torino, Naples, Madrid, Paris and Casablanca, and there are 29 such stores in all.

In Africa within the retail sector, it is present in Morocco through Nike stores and distribution, Urban Jungle stores and Tommy Hilfiger mono brand stores.

Hudson Group also distributes other brands, mainly in the sportswear sector, such as Converse for parts of Africa with a current focus on the North African countries. Recently the Group became the master franchisee of New Look for Tunisia and has opened a New Look store in Tunis through a local partner.

“This is the first step towards taking fashion franchises to Africa, outside Libya where the Group was previously significantly represented. The Group is in the process of establishing a retail presence in Algeria and developing further its distribution in sub-Saharan Africa,” Mr Borg said.

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