Former LIME exec goes from marketing to cookware distribution
Published:Wednesday | November 9, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Avia Collinder, Business Writer
Marketing consultancy Denway Corporation has expanded into distribution having signed with cookware designer Joseph Joseph Limited as exclusive distributors in Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Incorporated in 2006 and owned equally by managing director Wayne Lawrence and wife Denise Watson-Lawrence, Denway offered services in marketing strategy and capacity development until last year when Lawrence - an avid cook - encountered the products of Joseph Joseph.
The seasoned marketer - who up to June 2011 was vice-president of marketing at LIME Jamaica and before that was head of marketing at Red Stripe - said Denway's partnership with Joseph Joseph is intended to build on an estimated US$1 million of cookware sales.
"Our previous focus was on the development of business plans, marketing and strategy, developing funding proposals, and running marketing workshops for clients, including connecting them with distributors and other partners to work out marketing strategy," said Lawrence.
"We focused a lot on capacity development, designing programmes with the key capabilities marketers need to succeed as well as diagnostics for any problems which might exist and gaps in need of closing."
At first, Lawrence said, it was difficult getting Joseph Joseph to pay attention to a small start-up. But because of the couple's experience in sales and marketing, "we were able to have the right kind of conversation," Lawrence said.
There was also the challenge of logistics. Joseph Joseph is based in London but manufactures in the Far East. For Denway, it was a matter of arranging distribution so that country representatives could receive just in time inventory for local companies.
"For Jamaica, we have a small warehouse and distribute ourselves with three sales representatives visiting outlets. In other territories, we have representatives on the ground working with local companies," said the Denway MD.
"The small warehouse allows us to meet immediate demand while our reps work," he said.
In three months of operations, Denway has also signed Omniware - another cookware company - as well as Joseph Joseph.
Lawrence, noting that the new venture is funded by personal and family savings, says he expects to spend J$4 million to J$5 million on operations in the first 12 months, with no expectation of returns on investment before year two.
Denway covers the cost of marketing and distribution in the Caribbean, while Joseph Joseph provides the product.
"We expect to do 30 per cent of our business in Jamaica," Lawrence said.
The company's Caribbean market territories currently include Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, while negotiations are said to be ongoing in Barbados and The Bahamas.