CEO Riaz Haffejee
The 2019/2020 Ask Afrika Icon Brands Survey, run by Target Group Index Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd, surveyed over 23000 consumers representing nearly 27 million adult South African consumers.
“We are overjoyed to win this award for the seventh time,” says Riaz Haffejee, CEO of Sumitomo Rubber South Africa (Pty) Ltd, manufacturers of the Dunlop tyre brand. “The nation's love, trust and loyalty to the Dunlop brand, despite pressing economic times, shows great confidence in our tyres.”
Haffejee says Dunlop encourages consumers to take the road and to embrace their personal journey with confidence. This speaks to the company’s vision of creating journeys to better people’s lives. “Through consistent research, development and innovation we will continue to deliver quality tyre products to the market, enabling consumers to do just that, to take on any journey they choose - whether its on- or off-road - safely and with complete ease,” he says.
Founded in 1888, the Dunlop brand is renowned for many firsts, from John Boyd Dunlop’s invention of the first practical pneumatic tyre to trailblazing innovation in tyre safety, achieving exceptional performance milestones in motorsport and taking tyre retailing to new levels of excellence.
Dunlop products are developed with an emphasis on customer safety, quality and comfort, with stringent manufacturing processes both meeting and exceeding global standards. The brand’s retail channels have been established to satisfy the needs of every sector of the market from the suburban consumer catered for with Dunlop Zone and Dunlop Express fitment centres, the township consumer and entrepreneur supported through the Dunlop Container programme, to the commercial fleet, truck and bus owner with Dunlop Commercial branches.
Dunlop also continues to gain vehicle manufacturer approval internationally, with factory floor fitment of various tyres including the Dunlop Grandtrek AT25 on the Toyota Hilux Black Edition and Toyota Fortuner 18-inch derivatives and the Grandtrek AT1 radial tyre for selected Toyota Landcruiser 70 Series models, specified as original equipment in South Africa.
“This win serves to reinforce our commitment to bring #SaferthanSafe tyres to the African continent’s roads,” says Haffejee. “Backed by Sumitomo Rubber South Africa, Dunlop will continue its legacy of innovation, producing solutions driven by the needs of its customers.”
