Frontline Research Group (FRG) are well known for their expertise in Traditional Trade they are also known for having some of the most granular data on the retail industry in Africa. What many of their customers do not know is the extent of their services.
Steve Johnson, Managing Director of FRG says, “It is not uncommon for us to work for a multinational company in two or more countries and for each region to be unaware of the work we do for the other. What is surprising is that we will perform a particular service for one region and offer a completely different service to another. This becomes even stranger when one region is not even aware that we are able to provide the services to that we do for another region.”
Full Service Market Research
In short many of FRG’s customers are not aware that they are a full service market research consultancy that offers a range of services that go with retail census and retail audits.
Steve adds, “Our services go well beyond the simple provision of data as we offer a host of analytical, insightful and management services too. We are Africa and Traditional Trade specialists and love the continent on which we work. With close to 30 years of experience we have developed an understanding of how Africa functions that goes beyond the objective analyses of data. Our services are insightful and provide our customers with the opportunity to make effective tactical and strategic decisions.”
On Going Research
The collection of data and its analysis is not static. FRG have been running retail audits in some regions for many years and have developed a detailed and comprehensive understanding of those markets.
Retail census have become very important post-Covid as the retail landscape has changed dramatically. .
“We have numerous projects on the go at any moment and, for example, we recently gathered data on 99 000 retail outlets in Tanzania alone,” adds Steve.
Syndicated Approach to Research
FRG are planning to conduct a census of retail outlets in Mozambique, Uganda and South Africa in 2024 and they are inviting companies to partner with them in these retail census projects.
There are obvious cost savings for those involved in the partnership.
Procurement System Registration
FRG actively seek to be registered on a company’s procurement systems to ensure that orders can be processed quickly and efficiently.
“It is important for us to register all our services on a company’s procurement system for two reasons. Firstly, if we are registered in advance then the turnaround time of the project is significantly reduced and we can respond to urgent requests timeously. Secondly, the Procurement Department is better able to assist the Marketing and Research departments with a list of service providers for services that they may require,” says Steve.
Planning for 2024
Plan ahead for 2024 and speak to Frontline Research Group now. Contact Steve Johnson, Managing Director on Tel: +27 (0) 84 2000 111 or email: steve@frontlineafrica.com