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BLUE LABEL INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2016
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Conversation with Joint Chief Executive Officers
Blue Label is a distributor of
digital merchandise
We continue to implement our
strategic objective of distributing
electronic tokens of value in emerging
markets. We have strategically
expanded our range of products and
services, while simultaneously
increasing our distribution footprint.
The speed of creating, launching and
delivering new products is one of our
key strengths*.
* To reach one billion users, telephones
took 110 years, TV took 49 years, mobile
phones took 22 years.
The internet took 14 years and
smartphones took eight years.
With every new technology introduced,
reaching one billion users takes half as
long as the previous one.
Source: Oxigen Services India/Wikipedia
The importance of distribution is that
the operator of the last mile of the
channel determines merchandising
techniques and pricing, as the
The momentum in
Group earnings continues
Mark Levy and Brett Levy
Joint Chief Executive Officers
point-of-sale (POS) terminal is located
in the last mile of the channel and in
most instances is placed there by Blue
Label.
The distribution of physical and virtual
tokens is achieved through the roll
out of various technologies, including
POS devices, and is akin to a virtual
delivery system, with our proprietary
technology as the enabling carrier for
transactions. Incremental costs are
minimal, because the heavy lifting to
establish the distribution network is
already in place, which results in profit
margins filtering straight through to
the bottom line.
In South Africa, we distribute a variety
of categories of products and services:
prepaid airtime, starter packs, data,
prepaid electricity and water, ticketing
for events, sports and transport,
financial services, such as debit and
debit card acquiring, bill payments,
Lotto and money transfers to name a
few. In a replication of the South
African business model, we operate in
India and Mexico.
Technology is our
cornerstone
Our strong distribution capability is
underpinned by sophisticated
proprietary technology platforms.
Technology is our competitive
advantage and its success and
strength can be attributed to its
adaptability to cater for ever-changing
demands, which is complemented by
our thorough methodology in
deploying technology. Our technology
platform is product and hardware
agnostic, a neutral aggregator,
capable of plug ’n play, proven,
scalable and owes no fees to others.
The level of sophistication has enabled
the introduction of modern products
and services, such as prepaid
We continue to
implement our
strategic objective of
distributing electronic
tokens of value in
emerging markets.