Thermocool which entered the Nigerian market in 1974 is a strong brand among Nigerian consumers. The brand, a subsidiary of PZ Cussons strengthened its bond with consumers with its early TV commercials “Thermocool makes things better, makes better things”, today, it has developed a new TV commercial which takes consumers on a historical trajectory of the brand. In this interview, Panos Katsis, the company’s MD said the brand sees Nigeria as its home.
How would you describe your business in Nigeria in the last 40 years?
It has been both exciting and challenging years. But one thing for sure is that as a business, we are proud to be associated with Nigeria. Thermocool is a subsidiary of PZ Cussons. Our parent company, PZ has been in Nigeria for over 140 years, therefore we have seen Nigeria and its evolution in the last 140 years, the risks and opportunities but overall, the journey has been both good and rewarding so far. Even though it has been very eventful, it has also been quite challenging; it has been a good business full of innovation. If we look back we are proud of it. We have invested about $30 million in the last 4 years in expanding our distribution networks, new outlets and new manufacturing lines.
What are your strong points in the Nigerian market?
The factors that have kept us strong and growing and optimistic has been our relentless pursuit for quality, innovation, excellent customer service and satisfaction. We are not just a brand but a household name. For many companies that come into Nigeria, they see the country as Africa. But we don’t see Nigeria as Africa, we see Nigeria as home.
What are the activities in place to celebrate ‘40 years’ of successfully doing business in Nigeria?
We started about three weeks ago with a major campaign which was the Thermocool moment. It was an avenue to reward our loyal customers with some of their favourite Thermocool products. Thermocool Moment was on the radio with significant activities on the Thermocool website. We have done our media launch. We have also launched our TVC and this will be on air for the next two months. We also have plans for newspapers and outdoor campaigns. We have other major events in November when we will invite our business partners for a big party. We also have some CSR activities lined up as part of our anniversary. We also have the plan to make our new tagline -’Always there for you’ as strong as it used to be in the 1970s which is “Thermocool make things better, make better things”
How have you engaged the community for sustainable business?
PZ Cussons, our parent company has CSR at its heart and we are constantly working with them as a subsidiary. We have not crystalised our thoughts on the CSR for the anniversary, but we will be working with PZ Cussons. The parent company has the PZ foundation. Some of PZ Cussons CSR initiatives focus on education, health, etc.
How would you rate your share market especially with entry of more brands in recent time?
We occupy a leading position in most of the market categories where we operate in. We are the leaders in fridges, generators, air-conditioners and also the cookers. When you are in the leading position and also command premium in the industry because Thermocool is a leading brand, then you will always be challenged by new entrants that come into Nigeria. So the challenge for us is not only to keep and defend our leading position, but to continue to grow and innovate. We welcome competition because with competition you become better and more innovative and it helps you not to be complacent.
The perception is that Thermocool is about fridges, so why did you go into other home appliances?
There is a strong demand for Thermocool because the brand goes the extra mile in service and quality. We have established a strong presence with our Thermocool brand in cooling appliances. We have seen that there is a growing demand in Nigeria and we still want to be the household name, we don’t want to be seeing as a brand for specific functions in the house, but we want to be the brand that has taken over the whole house. We want to extend ourselves to the kitchen, living room and extend to the power generating etc. It is important we extend the brands without diluting the core values of quality innovation and customer satisfaction. Thermocool went into partnership with Haier to meet the needs of the Nigerian market which is dynamic for innovation. The partnership has given us the strategic leverage and the guarantee for future survival.
It appears you were quiet on Above the Line campaign for some time which other brands leveraged, was that a marketing strategy?
No marketer will downplay his or her marketing activities. It was a matter of focus and how you engage your advertising resources. We didn’t downplay marketing, we have always taken marketing activities both below the line and above the line very seriously. However, today we are making a bold statement with a new TV commercial and this will enjoy airplay between now and December. We are making a bold statement that Thermocool is here to stay.
Could you assess your future business especially with Nigeria being the largest market in Africa?
We still remain quite optimistic and we still remain ambitious about our future business. We want to establish a dominant position in Nigeria. At the same time, we have opened our operation in Ghana since 2007. We have plans to expand beyond Ghana and Nigeria to other W/African territories.
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