Amazon ‘hiring like crazy’ in South Africa
Amazon is rapidly expanding in South Africa, and the group is looking to fill many open positions in the market.
Despite operating in South Africa for over two decades through Amazon Web Services, many South Africans were excited by the launch of Amazon.co.za in May of this year, when the American tech giant brought its e-commerce platform to the country.
Speaking with BusinessTech, Robert Koen, Managing Director of Amazon Sub-Saharan Africa, said the group is pleased with its performance so far.
Although Koen could not provide sales figures because the company was publicly listed on the NASDAQ, he said that marketplace reviews have been positive. Users have been particularly impressed by the 24/7 customer service, including the “Click to Call” option on the website.
He added that the business is also looking to expand in a way that suits the needs of South African customers.
He noted that South African consumers mainly purchase everyday items such as washing liquid and fire lighters.
With the marketplace still in its infancy, the group is set to expand its product offerings, which include the recent launch of a luggage section.
However, 60% of the items sold in Amazon’s stores globally are from independent sellers, mostly small- and medium-sized businesses.
Thus, the South African marketplace will currently focus on third-party businesses and not through its in-house brand, as it does in other regions.
Koen added that the group regularly runs discounts, telling customers “to watch this space” for upcoming Black Friday announcements. Black Friday is a big sales period for local retailers, usually taking place for the entire month of November leading up to and following the actual day itself.
Amazon has not yet held any specific Black Friday sales in South Africa, so 2024 will mark its first. However, it faces an uphill battle against incumbents like Takealot, who have dominated the online space on the day since 2014, when Black Friday became a thing in SA.
Speaking on rivals like Takealot, Koen said that competition is great for the consumer, adding that Amazon is focused on earning consumers’ trust in South Africa.
The group also has the challenge of meeting South Africans’ expectations around its product offerings, including the popular Amazon Prime service.
In the US, Amazon Prime subscribers get benefits like free two-day deliveries, access to streaming service Prime Video, and several other perks.
Although there has been fanfare over the potential launch of Amazon Prime in South Africa, Koen said that specifics are still being ironed out.
Currently, South African customers will get free delivery on their first order, followed by free delivery on any subsequent orders over R500.
Amazon Prime Video is also available in also available separately for R79 per month.
Hiring spree
Reflecting the group’s early days in South Africa, Amazon is still busy expanding with Koen noting that the group is “hiring like crazy”.
According to Amazon’s career centre, there are currently 102 full-time positions that can be applied for.
83 jobs are in the Western Cape, where the group is building a R4.5 billion campus, while the remaining 19 are in Gauteng.
The job categories currently on offer include:
- Operations, IT, and Support Engineering (31)
- Software Development (21)
- Project/Program/Product Management / Non-Tech (16)
- Buying, planning & in-stock management (6)
- Sales, Advertising & Account Management (5)
- Human Resources (4)
- Marketing (4)
- Project/Program/Product Management – Technical (3)
- Business & Merchant Development (2)
- Business Intelligence (1)
It’s not only on the retail side. The group’s cloud division, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is also expanding, planning to invest R46 billion in the AWS Africa (Cape Town) Region between 2018 and 2029.
AWS also opened the first AWS Skills Centre outside of the USA in Cape Town last year, with the centre providing free foundational cloud training.
Not only is AWS increasing its foothold in South Africa, but its launch can be traced back to South Africa.
South African engineer Chris Pinkman returned to Cape Town from Seattle, where Amazon is based, in the mid-2000s to start work on the group’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) system, which would become a core part of AWS’s system.
Read: Streaming wars in South Africa – Netflix vs Showmax vs Amazon Prime Video and more
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