Page 27 - Gondwana Value Creation Report 2020

GROWING OUR VALUE A MESSAGE FROM GYS JOUBERT Digital strategy: Many of our opportunities will be driven by

○ Brand strategy: In recent years we expanded our business
and brand presence aggressively. As we expand, we acquire
new websites and brands. We aim to streamline our brand
positioning so we maintain a coherent image and access
point for potential customers.
Fear, self-doubt and panic. Anger and disbelief at the helplessness of it all.

Frustration because no matter how hard we try, this is not something we can fix.
traveller, IT and systems developments have been focus areas
over the past few years. We accelerated this process during
In 2020 tourism was not only non-existent, at times it was actually outlawed. technology, and to answer to the emerging needs of the modern
the crisis and focused our resources on developing and refining
technological solutions to realise the opportunities in the market.
These include ecommerce products, online research and booking
engines, dynamic pricing, artificial intelligence, integrated
Dear friends, In particular, we protected our employees. After consulting with with them often. We began company-wide communications customer management and promotion systems and payment
our regulator, we cut benefits such as pensions and on-the- through letters, followed by WhatsApp messages and voice notes. portals, among other solutions. We expanded our IT skills and
I reflect not only on the most difficult year in the history of
Gondwana, but on a personal level, also on the most difficult job meals, and we brought about voluntary salary cuts, but we This helped us communicate with our far-flung employees who began building a data warehouse, as discussed on page 34. IT will
year of my life. had no retrenchments. We believe that, over time, losing skills are more difficult to reach with traditional communication when remain a key enabler going forward, as it facilitates our business
carries a larger cost than it saves, and a single job loss carries the they are not at work. and allows better customer engagement, such as through our
We operated with full expenses during our low season, and same psychological impact as 500. Our people are community upcoming travel app. In a capital-intensive industry, our ultimate
were denied our high season by the pandemic and lockdown members with dependants, and seeing their friends and family Strategy goal is to get better yielding from our strong balance sheet.
regulations. However, the crisis opened the windows of lose their jobs, with the added risk of becoming seriously ill, Our strategy is built on a set of pillars that drive us forward.
introspection, and we were able to reconsider our entire business created a fear that we refused to justify. Our shareholders, most Responding to trends
and mindset in a time when we would have been preoccupied of whom have been with Gondwana for a long time, understood ○ Growth: Gondwana is a volume-driven business with fixed
with business-as-usual. Thankfully, our historically conservative this and sacrificed their dividend to ensure we could continue costs. Unfortunately, this meant we could not deliver our We saw interesting developments during the year.
spending and aversion to growing on a debt basis allowed us to operating. normal efficiencies in 2020. We still drove measures to ○ People were cooped up for long periods and wanted the
survive the year well enough that we were held as an example We continued training and developing employees, and we upheld foster and improve efficiencies, which will be realised when freedom to breathe in wide open spaces. They relooked their
of how to do business. We have never been obsessive about our minimum commitments to our communities by maintaining we operate at normal capacity again. In recent years, we priorities and wanted to escape the rat race, if only for a while.
expansion, growth or profits at the expense of our people, culture financing for conservancies. We also maintained our conservation have expanded aggressively. If this had been predicated on This is good news to us, as we are well positioned to cater to
or DNA, and this served us well in the year. only debt, we would have been in trouble this year. But our these needs with packages for more secluded or solitary travel.
efforts as far as possible. These continued initiatives are discussed
2020 was incredibly hard – once we were shut down, our hopes in our social impact chapter (pages 36 to 71). financial caution put us in a position where we were still able ○ Technology became even more important. It facilitated the
to finish and open up our new lodge, Etosha King Nehale,
were repeatedly crushed as dates for reopening tourism in situated on the Andoni plains – a symbol of our optimism and ‘new normal’ meetings, and sophisticated systems allowed
Namibia were given and rescinded, which eventually left our If we saw our business as just preparedness for the coming years. huge cost savings through data aggregation and insights, as
revenue 66% lower than in 2019. We learned early on that 2020 well as streamlined processes. So even though we were saving
would be a marathon, and not a sprint, but we could not know a brick and mortar institution, ○ Product diversification: While we did not greatly expand our as many costs as possible elsewhere, we appointed a Chief
how long it would last, so we needed to be nimble and think on product offerings, we paved the way for digital products in the Information Officer to spearhead our digital strategy.
our feet each day. We could do this thanks to our mentality that we could let go of every coming years. Our Camping2Go and Secret Collection offerings, ○ Even before 2020, corporate trust deficits were becoming more
risk, compliance and tick-boxes shouldn’t be our biggest focus, employee and hire new ones introduced in 2019, have proven successful, and we introduced serious. This became especially troubling in tourism, where
as no crisis would follow our plans. Rather, we made sure that Palmwag Camping2Go in 2020. Our guests’ feedback on these travellers who cancelled trips could not recover their deposits
we had the right people, culture and structures in place, and when we reopened. But we are offerings help inform how we need to tweak them to better from operators who had already spent them. We believe that a
we conducted scenario analyses to determine plans for various cater to their desires. Once funds become available, we will deposit belongs to the customer, and have never used them to
eventualities. The Board’s trust in the new TLC allowed us the a family, and that was never an further explore these offerings. We also continue investing in do business. In 2020, we opened a bank account in Germany
freedom to do what was needed in an agile manner. technology as a catalyst for product diversification. It is essential to protect deposits from foreign exchange losses by keeping
as a means of aggregating data, understanding our guests, and
There were many pitfalls to avoid this year, and we managed to option. That’s why the theme improving our visibility and offerings online. money in the currency it was provided to us in.
evade them by staying level headed. For example, we saw many that emerged for us in 2020 ○ Value chain integration and synergies: Many operators were ○ Sustainable tourism has been steadily becoming more popular
other tourism operators reacting to the crisis by competing on put out of business. We are able to provide them a lifeline by over the past three decades, and travellers are increasingly
price for local or regional tourism and implementing price freezes. is People. The true asset of working together, either through consolidation or through looking to support companies that do business responsibly. We
We swam against this current by spending more time considering various contracts. Vertical integration is often viewed with have always promoted sustainability by investing in our people,
our situation, finally deciding to waive cancellation fees on Gondwana is her People. suspicion, as it could make a market less competitive or hurt communities and the planet. We do this because it is right, not
condition that our debtors pay us immediately. smaller operators. While we look to be as responsible as because it is profitable, and so we can honestly say that our

The year’s hardships were the perfect litmus test of Gondwanians During 2020 I spent a lot of time at our lodges to learn possible, 2020 has shown us that integration is more reliable customers are supporting a noble cause when they spend their
money with us.
and what we claim to stand for. Our stakeholders came together employees’ fears and to comfort them. It was heart-breaking to than engaging with operators who might not be able to uphold
to support one another and prove their dedication to the see them ready but unable to work, but encouraging to see their their commitments.
company. Gondwana also stood firm in its commitments to them. gratitude and dedication. I recognised the need to communicate

24 VALUE CREATION REPORT 2020 GONDWANA COLLECTION NAMIBIA 25