“As a multinational group focused solely on Africa, we have set up or taken over businesses in 15 countries since 1996,” he says. “It's never simple when you're coming in as an outsider. It requires a multi-levelled project and getting past a good many sensitivities,” says Hartmann.
Engen DRC's managing director, Charles Nikobasa says beyond the challenges of managing change, the sheer size of the geographical spread of the DRC network that was to be re-branded was Engen's biggest challenge. “We had great difficulty transporting equipment around a big country, in the end using air, road and ferry.”
He adds that managing local contractors was challenging, in view of the language barrier (French). The tropical weather further added to the challenge of keeping the project within timelines.
Engen completed re-branding within six months. Randall Chrisstoffels, Engen IBD's Business Transformation Manager, comments that the visual effect of the new-look sites is powerful and well-accepted, and that the commitment of the Engen DRC team during this transition process was one of the main reasons of the resultant success of the programme.
Engen hoped this investment in the DRC will support the company's over-arching goal in its EPIC 2016 strategic growth plan of becoming a "champion" in the provision of energy solutions and related offerings in sub-Saharan Africa by 2016.
“We will want to sweat existing assets and drive improvement of our performance via the strength of the Engen brand in Africa, while seeking opportunities for growth of the retail network,” says Nikobasa.
