| Bristol has appointed new distributors in the Gulf States of Kuwait and Oman for its PPE products |
Bristol has seen its export business grow on the back of a successful expansion of its international distributor network. A busy promotional programme, which focused on attending a number of key international, and major national, fire exhibitions throughout 2013 and 2014, attracted the attention of distributors from a number of new potential markets. Following a careful selection process, six new distributor appointments have been made over the past two years.
With upwards of half of the Company’s business coming from overseas markets in well over 100 countries, the strength and health of its local distributor network is vital in identifying and delivering new export business. The exhibitions which proved particularly important in the recruitment process included Dubai’s Intersec; Germany’s A+A and AFAC in Australia 2013 and New Zealand 2014. The 2014 Spanish show, SICUR, and the French Fire Brigade Congress also contributed towards widening the pool of potential new distributors. Bristol will be using its presence at the forthcoming Interschutz 2015 in Hannover, staged every five years and one of the world’s leading fire and security exhibitions, to meet more prospective distributors for countries where growing interest in its innovative PPE solutions requires local knowledge and support services to deliver further growth, especially in Europe.
In the rapidly expanding firefighter PPE markets of the Gulf States, new distributors have been appointed in Kuwait and Oman. The growing economic importance of Nigeria to the African continent is reflected in its infrastructure development where a distributor is now in place in Lagos and Nepal now also has Bristol representation based in Kathmandu. A recent appointment in Lima, Peru, extends its representation in South America and, as part of a broader European expansion programme, an experienced and long-established Rome-based distributor of specialist fire equipment has recently joined the international network.
Having held its successful International Distributor Conference earlier this year, the exposure which this event creates internationally has become part of the attraction for intending distributors looking to align themselves with a strong international brand and class leading firefighter protective clothing.
Roger Startin, Bristol’s joint managing director, commented, “Having a committed, experienced and successful distributor network is an essential part of our growth strategy. Our ability to attract this number of new members to our growing team of local representatives over the past two years has added substantially to our ability to position ourselves to compete more effectively for major PPE contracts now coming forward as the global economy recovers from the recession of the past six years”.