Article - Convenient Corporate Merchandise

13 Dec 2021

Champions of Corporate Merchandise

 

Almost each and every product that may be bought and sold can qualify to be called “merchandise”. Pretty much the same applies to a service, if that happens to be the premier “product” that’s offered for acquisition or sale by a corporate entity. Virtually every organisation, manufacturer, producer, retailer or wholesaler, who sells or supplies goods (and services), owns or runs a corporate set-up is likely to be known as a corporate concern.

 

Put the two concepts together, and it’s corporate all the way, particularly if the entities’ clients are similar organisations. Thus, they trade on a business-to-business or corporate-to-corporate basis, which is how we operate at South Africa’s XCO Group.

 

 

XCO Group now consists of several companies and divisions, which were created and established in response to an evolving market and merchandise sector, as well as our customers’ requests for more product choices and options from a leading supplier and manufacturer, a company like XCO.

 

Eye on the Ball

 

We’ve always kept our eye on the ball (a permissible pun, taking our origin into account) and remained focused on quality corporate merchandise at affordable prices, plus exceptional service excellence in all we do, throughout every specialised area and aspect of our group.

 

Before the Existence of XCO

 

XCO was not always known by this group name. We had not yet formed a group, nor did our founders suspect or know that their first venture would develop and evolve into a substantial and significant company, a group, largely thanks to the demands of an ever-increasing and consistently loyal customer base, who supported our enterprise from the word “go”.

 

Humble Beginnings

 

Our organisation grew from smaller, humble beginnings as a single, independently owned retail store in Pretoria in 1987. The store was known as Sportoria, an appropriate name for a Pretoria-based outlet that specialised in the supply of sporting apparel and allied equipment. Our first customers were mainly people from in and around the Jacaranda City – the alternative name given to Pretoria by locals and fellow South Africans. 

 

Gradual Growth

 

The scope of Sportoria’s operations grew too. In 1990, our then limited wholesale activities started with the supply of apparel to 27 schools. Four years later, by 1994, we added a factory and an in-house screen-printing and embroidery studio to the Sportoria endeavour. This enabled us to customise and brand merchandise to meet the needs and requirements our larger customer groups.

 

Within another four years, we opened Cricket Direct in 1998 – a store that specialised in cricket merchandise – situated at Pretoria’s home of local and now international cricket, Supersport Park.

 

 

Serving the Corporate Sector

 

As the requirements of our sports-inspired marketplace became more sophisticated, we created our first institutional, wholesale company, rebranded XCO Sport in 2006, which would later be the first entity under the XCO Group umbrella. More group companies would follow, in order to better serve the corporate sector, much to the delight of our clients.

 

Today, the additions to our group have taken place as follows:

 

·         1999 – Blue Bulls – their merchandise sold at the team’s rugby shop, located at their home ground, Loftus Versfeld

·         2000 – Gauteng North - appointed as the official supplier of their merchandise

·         2002 – Team South Africa – official supplier

·         2006 – formation of XCO Sport

·         2009 – Design-on-Line – XCO developed the first online software in SA

·         2009 – XCO Sport added another dealership, XCO Namibia, giving us an international footprint. Since then, a second international dealership, XCO Botswana, was launched

·         2011 – Etail, our Online Ordering and Brand Management tool

·         2014 – reached another milestone by establishing our official Group, consisting of 4 distinctive divisions – Sport, Corporate, Workwear and Exposure

·         2014 – our manufacturing unit was certified as Proudly South African

·         2017 – celebrated our 30^th anniversary since our founding and modest beginnings

·         2019 – XCO Digital was launched with Headlight Media

·         2020 – another innovation from XCO – Brand in a Box

·         2021 – launched our Lifestyle range – corporate gear and promotional gifts with a fun, funky and modern twist – your choice of loud or discreet

 

To help our customers navigate their way through our corporate merchandise, our website’s home page presents links to the sections listed below:

 

·         Lifestyle

·         Deals and promotions

·         XCO Group videos

·         Design your own online

·         Etail – brand management

·         Create your brand

·         Apply your brand

·         Expose your brand

·         Expand your brand

·         Live your brand

 

Additionally, merchandise is categorised:

 

·         Gifting

·         Corporate clothing

·         Workwear (includes PPE)

·         Branding

·         Sport

·         XCO Digital

 

Convenient, Comprehensive, and Online

 

There simply is no viable alternative when it comes to acquiring your winning corporate merchandise than via the XCO Group. It’s easy, comprehensive and convenient. Moreover, it’s online – at wholesale prices.