Top 10 Favourite South African Brands
South Africa has some fantastic brands (ask any expat who misses Woolies!) Last week well known South African writer GUS SILBER wandered into a Cape Union Mart to replace a K-Way jacket that had started unravelling at the cuff. It was almost six months after purchase… yet the staff simply smiled and replaced it. “I thought, […]
South Africa has some fantastic brands (ask any expat who misses Woolies!) Last week well known South African writer GUS SILBER wandered into a Cape Union Mart to replace a K-Way jacket that had started unravelling at the cuff. It was almost six months after purchase… yet the staff simply smiled and replaced it. “I thought, what a great company,” Gus told SAPeople, “and then I thought of a few others too…”
My Favourite South African Brands (In No Particular Order)
by Gus Silber
1) Takealot
They have an enormous range of competitively-priced goods, everything from high-end electronics to books to catfood, and they deliver speedily, often ahead of schedule.
2) Afrihost
They are by far the best option for mobile voice and data, and I like their vibe too, right down to their cheesy American-style direct marketing.
3) Kauai
The fact that they’ve been able to make a name for themselves, when their name is so difficult to spell, is a testimony to their well-deserved dominance of the healthy fast-food market.
4) The Mugg
It’s unpretentious, easygoing, and reliable, and it’s always the first place that springs to mind when all I want is a place for meeting or eating in a mall.
5) Cape Union Mart
The go-to place for anything to do with the Great Outdoors. The staff are uniformly friendly and helpful, and they know their Great Outdoor stuff.
6) Woolworths
They’re in a class of their own – the benchmark of consistently high quality in retail. Much missed by South African expats in faraway countries.
7) Switch Telecom
I moved my Telkom landline to them when I switched to fibre, and the experience was seamless and trouble-free. They have an excellent service ethic and their technology just works.
8) 702
I only really listen when I’m driving, and I almost always switch off for the ad-breaks, but they are as much a part of the landscape of Joburg as the towers and the minedumps, and their community spirit is strong and admirable.
9) Exclusive Books
I’ve been a customer and a fan ever since the days of Hillbrowsing at their flagship store in Hillbrow. These days, they serve a pretty good coffee too.
10) The Mail & Guardian
Friday wouldn’t be Friday without it. It’s the one newspaper I still read in hard copy on a regular basis, not counting those I read at random at the Mugg.
[Editor’s Note: And if Gus had a number 11, we’d like to think it would be SAPeople! He says: “I always enjoy your site. It’s good to see South Africa through expat eyes.”]
GUS SILBER is a fantastic South African journalist, author, scriptwriter, speechwriter and tweeter. He “plays with words and sometimes works with them too”.
Follow Gus on Twitter: @gussilber
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