Hudson Holdings CEO Alfie Borg speaks to Anthony Manduca about the company’s three decades of experience in branded fashion and sportswear, with retail operations and distribution in Europe and North Africa, as well as its Urban Jungle franchise and long association with Nike.

Malta is to be the gateway for Nike pro­ducts destined for North Africa, Alfie Borg, Hudson Holdings CEO, tells The Sunday Times of Malta. Nike products will be shipped directly from factories to a distribution centre in Malta from where they will be distributed to eight African countries.

“A distribution centre is being set up in Ħal Far. From this centre we will serve the markets of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya with Nike products, markets where BD International – a subsidiary of Hudson Holdings – is the official distributor for Nike.

“We also have the rights to use the distribution centre to serve Nike distributors in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia with Nike products.

“In the first year the centre will cater for about 1,000 containers a year. These will come in from the Far East, sorted out and shipped to these countries. We expect this volume to double within the next few years.

“We will employ about 50 people to handle the logistics of this operation, which was previously handled from Dubai. We signed a five-year contract starting this month,” he says while showing me around the company’s large new premises in Burmarrad.

Hudson Holdings is, in fact, a massive Maltese success story, and has expanded considerably beyond Malta’s shores over the past 30 years. It employs 350 people in Malta and about 50 overseas, and its portfolio of global brands includes Nike, New Look, River Island, Timberland, Converse, Umbro, Tommy Hilfiger and Kiabi – which has just opened its second store in Malta, just next to the Hudson’s offices in Burmarrad.

It also has its own brand, Urban Jungle, a multi-brand concept sneaker store first set up in Malta in 1993, which brings Nike, Converse and more under one roof.

Today Urban Jungle has 25 stores in Malta, Italy, Spain, France and Morocco, including shops in Rome, Torino, Caserta, Naples, Madrid, Seville and Paris.

“Urban Jungle is without doubt Malta’s most successful franchise,” Mr Borg says with some pride. “It is a successful home-grown brand and concept that has made the leap to mainland Europe and Africa.”

The company has a long and successful history with Nike. “We sold our first pair of Nike in Malta in 1987. Since then we have slowly taken over Nike’s distribution in most of the North African region. We successfully developed this brand, moving from one store to becoming the largest distribution manager in Africa, bar none.”

“This year Malta will become the gateway of Nike distribution and logistics in North Africa. Nike products will be shipped directly from the factory to a distribution centre in Malta and then ex­ported to many African countries. This is the first project of this kind in Malta, demonstrating the strong partnership with Nike and our contribution to the country’s growth and marketplace development.”

He adds: “Nike was one of the first symbols of the westernised world in North Africa and represents a way of life that so many people aspire to in the region. This in part explains why it is so popular there.”

Mr Borg, who admits keeping a low profile in Malta, joined Time International Co. Ltd in 1984 as a sales representative, and together with Daniel Reginiano (who sadly died in 2011) built the company into one of Malta’s leading distributors and retailers.

Acquiring a portfolio of world-leading brands allowed them to transform the fledgling company into one of the biggest players on the local market. In 2006 Mr Borg led the management buyout of Time, forming a new holding company, Hudson Holdings Ltd, along with key handpicked shareholders.

Urban Jungle is without doubt Malta’s most successful franchise

“Over the years we established a standard of networking excellence made up of great brands and great people that was and remains instrumental in successfully taking Nike and other great brands across the Maghreb, Italy, France, Spain and Malta,” he says.

“We know the region and we understand these markets, and have operated in them for years, enabling us to build our experiences and network”.

“Not only does Hudson have extensive retail and distribution experience built over the past three decades but our experience is specifically directed at introducing brands and building them in new and challenging markets, through the right mix of retail and distribution channels,” he says.

How stable are the North African markets?

“I would say Algeria, Morocco and Tuni­sia, where we own offices, are stable. Tunisia is a rare success story of the Arab Spring, even though it obviously has its own share of challenges, and Algeria and Morocco have not been affected as much by the turmoil as in certain parts of the Arab world.

“Libya is a different story, of course, and is at a standstill at the moment, but hopefully it will eventually stabilise.

“The company actually managed a total of 15 stores in Tripoli, Benghazi and Misurata, made up of different brands, namely Nike, New Look, Espirit, Timberland, Tommy, Parfois and Clarks, some of which have closed because of the turmoil, while some open and close according to what is happening on the ground

“We are waiting for things to calm down so that we can return to the Libyan market, which has huge potential.”

Is there any particular reason for the company’s focus on Italy, Spain, France and Africa?

“In 1996, Nike Italy invited us to open stores in Italy because they were in need of new sneaker store concepts to help transform the marketplace. Of course, in our Urban Jungle stores in Italy we also sell other sports brands besides Nike, such as Adidas and Puma, which we don’t do in Malta. We have done very well in Italy and our top man, Gianluca, a former Nike manager, heads the brand in the international market.

“Spain has a lot of potential and we plan to expand there, while we are in Paris for strategic reasons – it is important for our clients in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, all Francophone countries – to have a presence in Paris,” he explains.

As for Africa, Mr Borg says there is huge potential, pointing out that Algeria is a massive country with a growing middle class.

“African consumers are increasingly demanding quality products and are brand conscious. In Morocco, for example, 74 per cent of people said in a survey that international brands are more fashionable than local brands. Private consumption in Africa is higher than in India or Russia, with apparel expected to account for 45 per cent of the $410 billion growth in the economy by 2020. More than half of Africa’s inhabitants are under 20, and 53 per cent of those with an income are aged between 16 and 34. So we definitely see prospects for growth in Africa.”

How is he looking ahead?

“Our objectives for this year and beyond are aggressive. Nationally we have just opened our second Kiabi store in Malta, in Burmarrad, next to our offices. Kiabi, a French franchise, offers affordable fashionable clothes for the family and we have very high hopes for this brand.

“Overseas, Hudson is looking to expand the number of stores and distribution of brands in existing countries and to extend to new territories using our experience as well as fresh business models to reach outlying and virgin territories.”

He adds: “We plan three new Urban Jungle stores a year in Italy and three a year in Spain, most likely in Barcelona and Valencia.

“We want to make Urban Jungle the premium destination for sneaker lovers in Europe, Africa and beyond,” he says.

Hudson Holdings timeline

1987: Nike, Malta.
1992: Converse, Malta.
1993: Urban Jungle, Malta.
2004: Nike, Libya.
2006: Hudson Group Formation; Nike, Algeria (manager); Urban Jungle, Italy.
2007: Timberland, Malta; Crocs, Malta.
2008: Converse, North Africa; Timberland, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
2010: New Look, Malta.
2011: Nike, Tunisia.
2012: New Look, Libya; Umbro, Malta, North Africa.
2013: Tommy Hilfiger, North Africa; Esprit, Libya; Parfois, Libya.
2014: Kiabi, Malta; River Island, Malta; Urban Jungle, Spain; Clarks, Libya.
2015: Urban Jungle, France; Urban Jungle, Morocco; Nike, distribution and logistics hub for Africa.