Linda Johnson-Rice, the visionary owner of the American media empire that owns EBONY Magazine and Johnson Publishing Company, along with its transformative CEO, Desiree Rogers have joined forces to establish the Fashion Fair cosmetics footprint in South Africa. Fashion Fair is a subsidiary company of Johnson Publishing Company.
Earlier in April 2014, a delegation from Chicago, Illinois which included Desiree Rogers and Connie Jackson, General Manager of Fashion Fair UK and Europe were hosted in South Africa by the former mayor of Harare, Muchadeyi Masunda who is the Chairman of Old Mutual Zimbabwe and Deputy Chairman of Zimplats Holdings, one of the largest platinum mines in the world that is currently listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Desiree Rogers met with Daniel Reichenberg, Chief Financial Officer of Stuttafords, the most prestigious high-end retail department store chain in South Africa. The two executives discussed the vast opportunities and challenges facing South African businesses and how the two iconic companies could build synergies by bringing the Fashion Fair Cosmetics line in South Africa.
According to Euromonitor, South Africa’s cosmetics sector is one of the largest in the world valued at more than $ 2 billion. South Africa has experienced a growth rate of at least ten percent over the last five years in this sector far outpacing any other market in this region. The country also has a burgeoning middle class population of 11 million households, which will accelerate the demand for beauty care products in South Africa.
Rogers also met with the Mayor of Johannesburg, Mpho Parks Tau, at his council chambers where they discussed the needs for the cities of Chicago and Johannesburg. In her capacity as Chairman of Choose Chicago, Desiree Rogers elaborated to Mayor Parks Tau how her organization is working diligently to increase the number of international visitors to the city of Chicago and expressed a strong interest in working with Mayor Parks Tau and his office to achieve this objective.
In December, Fashion Fair launched exclusively at Stuttafords department stores at Eastgate Mall in Johannesburg and Menlyn Park in Pretoria, South Africa. This is the first phase of a rollout of the cosmetic line in seven high-end department stores across South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe over the next 18 months.
Martin Munangatire, Chairman of the Zimbabwe Trade & Cultural Expo (ZTCE) and Dave Marongwe, ZTCE Executive Director who are based in Chicago partnered with Johnson Publishing Company in this venture. Their group has successfully forged a roadmap for American based companies interested in expanding or pursuing new business ventures in Africa.
Left to right: Martin Munangatire – ZTCE Chairman, Dave Marongwe – ZTCE Executive Director, Connie Jackson – Fashion Fair UK & Europe General Manager, Muchadeyi Masunda – Former Mayor of Harare, Parks Tau – Mayor of Johannesburg, and Desiree Rogers – CEO of Johnson Publishing Company Photo: Tanja Bencun
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