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GRINGOTHE CAUSE BRAND

Basic Corporate Information

� Firm: GRINGO, Lda.� Location: Head Oficce : 1803, 25 setembro avenue, Maputo,

Mozambiqueo Liasion Ofice :Gurgaon, India.

� Activities: To produce and sell GRINGO products and invest 50% ofthe net profit generated by this activity to the Cause Projects.

� Number of employees: 43 at head office in Maputo, one in India� Three outlets in Maputo� Website : www.gringojeans.com� Power Point

Presentation:www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=70036

Background

GRINGO, was born in Mozambique in 1997 as a brand idea and registered as atrademark in Mozambique and South Africa in 2000 for jeans that were yet to beproduced. The vision of its owner Abdulla Abdul Karim, an early school leaver, was tocreate not only a Jeans brand with the quality and appeal of any international brand butalso that it should stand for a cause; the cause of eradicating hunger and poverty in hiscountry and ultimately the world. It should be a truly Mozambican brand that shouldappeal to its youth giving them a point of reference and motivating them towardseducation and training. Its immediate aim was to clothe Mozambican youth, whilst beinga socially responsible company and to lead by example to change the existingentrepreneurial attitude in the country. Its core business is jeans and the first shopspecialized in internationally renowned brand names of Jeans to open in Maputo.

GRINGO is now an established trademark in Mozambique and with aninternational presence having filed applications through the Madrid System in Lesotho,Namibia, Portugal, Swaziland and Zambia in 2006. “GNG" the artistic acronym of thetrademark "GRINGO" whereby the last "G" is in backwards has also been filed in severalcountries through the Madrid System.

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The Cause

At the heart of the business strategy of GRINGO is itsbranding strategy and at the core of the brandingstrategy is “The Cause”. The vision of the owner andExecutive Director of GRINGO, Mr. Abdul KarimAbdulla, was to create a brand that would appeal toMozambican youth and which would inspire andmotivate them but also one that would spearhead “TheCause” “the eradication of hunger and misery in theWorld, thru investment in education.” The companywas not only contributing 50%of its profits to TheCause Projects. It was by doing that forcing society ingeneral and policy makers in particular to look at thefailure of society as a whole to address The Cause and,by example, compel action, solutions and ultimatelyresults to win the global fight against poverty.

Cause Projects

Futescola Project - 2001 to 2007

The Hulene quarter with a population of 57,000 is located 20 kilometers from theCity of Maputo. It is the location of Maputo’s rubbish dump, the only rubbish dump foran estimated population of 1.2m inhabitants of Maputo.

Futescola was a social project located in the Hulene quarter for the benefit of thechildren of that quarter. Its aim was to empower the children through football, feed them,educate them and integrate them into society in a way that would enable them tomeaningfully contribute to the society in which they live. The Futescola Project –School of Football Players started in 2000 with the mobilization of 200 children all ofthem living in Hulene quarter. 60 children aged eight to eighteen with potential to playfootball were selected. They were provided with education, meals, medical check upsand training in football. Education meant not only supporting their school fees but alsoeducating them on issues such as HIV AIDS and its prevention and health care in generalas well as their place in society and their responsibility towards their society and country.

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While the immediate objective of the project was to train future footballprofessionals with the attendant benefits of good health, physical strength, tactical skillsas well as the importance of team play and collective action the benefits reached furtherthan that. Through participation in the project the families were also impactedeconomically as well as in terms of their well being and sense of integration which in turnstrengthened society as a whole. Unfortunately the Project ended in December 2007 dueto the overall failure of the climate of aid in Africa.

Life Mozambique Project – 1st January 2008 to date

The most important project to which GRINGO has committed itself in connectionwith “The Cause” is the Life Mozambique Project inspired by Dr Noorjehan AbdulMagid. It was launched on January 1, 2008 as a pilot project. Its objective is to ensuremilk to children under 7 years of age in Mozambican hospitals and children care centers.At the pilot stage the project focused on the regular supply of milk to children primarilyassociated with HIV and those suffering from cerebral paralysis. Subsequently orphansand street children cared for in another center were added. This project is independentlymanaged, with GRINGO participating in financing and in the analysis of results. Giventhe success of the project, the financial allocation has increased from US$15,000 in 2008to US$50,000 for 2010 and adding further child care units to bring the total number ofunits to seven.

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The Brand

By aligning The Cause with the Brand, thus creatingThe Cause Brand the objective was that each wouldnurture the other. The emotional appeal of the Brandwould overflow into The Cause and vice versa,sustaining and strengthening each other. The Brand wasfocused on the youth of Mozambique and at its simplestand most direct expectation to clothe them and moreimportantly to inspire them and motivate them. Thusthe brand personality was established; A strong, sereneyet irreverent personality which encouraged socialengagement as well as criticism and which advocatedhumanism, freedom and victory.

The Cause was also integral to the internal management of the company. TheGRINGO Statement or the vision which guided the employees and management of thecompany was “Be a positive example, by giving to society, the society grows, and whensociety grows the market grows, and consequently the company.” A series of initiativeswere implemented for the benefit of GRINGO employees and others focused oneducation. They included the GRINGO Education Program, which was a scholarshipprogram for GRINGO employees but with no conditions imposed such as an obligationto work in the company for a stipulated time period. A library was created within thecompany for the benefit of the employees who were encouraged to read and improvetheir understanding of the business.

The strategy was to build up from the brand and to introduce the product at thelast stage. At the time there was no clothing industry in Mozambique and as such therewas no production of raw materials, nor local capacity for designing the products or inmarketing. The company would thus sell branded international jeans in the GRINGOstore which, with time, would create in the mind of the consumer an association ofquality with the GRINGO brand. At the appropriate time the GRINGO product would beintroduced by which time the consumer would already associate the GRINGO brand witha certain kind of product quality. The consumer would by then have a perception of thebrand, its message and its identity. In this manner, associations were used to create theperceived quality and quality reference.

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From: 1997 GRINGO profile.

Thus the company focused its energies on building the brand in sync with theCause so that the Cause would resonate in the brand. All of these efforts contributed tobuilding the brand image of a company that was committed to it social responsibilitiesand saw the importance of education for social upliftment.

Cause Oriented Campaigns

The company also engaged in Cause oriented marketing campaigns. Theseinvolved media campaigns on HIV awareness, ethics, showcasing unknown talents,conservation of national culture, national pride, taking children out of poverty, providingfood for children etc.. as well the powerful campaign in newspapers called SensoComum. This involved 52 newspaper advertisements one for every week of the yearsocial criticism, social responsibility, ethics, inspired by the teachings of the jewish,Christian and Islamic faiths. Three sample ads are provided below to illustrate theseamless joining of The Cause and the brand. The complete campaign is provided as anattachment.

Be fair, recognize otherpeople’s efforts

Be responsible, admit yourmistakes

Be ambitious, not envious

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Intellectual Property

IP Summary

TRADE MARK REGISTRATIONSMozambique : Trade Mark Registrations in 45 Classes.

Republic of South Africa : : Trade Mark Registration 2000/22350 , 2000/22351 – GRINGO in classes 25, 35.Trade Mark Registration 2007/17913 , 2007/17914, 2007/17915 – GNG in classes 3, 18,25.

Madrid System : Trade Mark Registration 905730 – GRINGO in classes 3, 18, 25Trade Mark Registration 922644 – GNG in classes 3, 18, 25

India : Trade Mark Aplications: 1571988, 1571989, 1571991 – GRINGO inclasses 3, 18, 25.Trade Mark Aplications: 1593076, 1593077, 1593078 – GNG in classes 3, 18, 25.

INTERNET DOMAIN REGISTRATIONSwww.gringojeans.comwww.gringojeans.orgwww.gringojeans.netwww.gringojeans.bizwww.gringojeans.info

The company was mindful of the importance of intellectual property, particularlytrademarks as the bedrock of the brand. It was aware that the brand needed to beprotected from usurpers and counterfeiters. Steps were taken very early to registerGRINGO as a trademark in Mozambique and Republic of South Africa and today,GRINGO is registered in 45 classes in Mozambique, and also owns copyright certificatesfor the slogans, symbols and publicity sentences. GRINGO is also registeredinternationally in five countries and GNG in 34 countries (including the 27 membercountries of the European Union), through the Madrid System administered by WIPO.The company also benefited from the WIPO Least Development Countries Policyregarding international registration by paying only 10% of the registration fees.

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The main logo was created in 2001….. …with three main product lines.

The Black Art and Quality Eagle was designed, as quality logo, according to thefollowing requirements:

Representing:Eagle wings: Artistic Freedom.Eagle claw: Quality Requirement.Eagle eye: Brand Vision.Eagle body: Agility in the Actions.Black Color: Mystery.

The GNG is GRINGO’s artistic acronym, designed in2006, with the last G on the mirror effect making itunique and easily recognizable. It is flexible, neutral,not likely to have offensive connotations in potentialexport markets and thus has the ability to be registeredin any country.

GRINGO Shops, Product and Tags

GRINGO Shops

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Ten years after the brand was created, on the 7th of September 2007,GRINGOJEANS were finally introduced and its website www.gringojeans.com was alsolaunched on the same day.

GRINGOJEANS with Distinctive Signs.

The Cause is communicated in the product tags which inform the customer of itsparticipation in The Cause by purchasing the product.

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Production and Future Development

At the outset the products were sourced from outside, mainly from South Africafrom where 95% of the products were bought with a small percentage sourced fromPortugal. There was no possibility of producing in Mozambique which had no developedindustry. India was identified as the ideal production base given the skills (fashiondesigners, graphic designers, quality control team, supply chain know-how) which wereavailable at competitive prices. The commercial potential of the Indian market was alsoa factor as was the compatibility of India with the Cause. In 2009, GRINGO was

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authorized to operate a Liaison Office in India for 3 years. Presently, 100% of GRINGOproducts are produced in India.

The company is now looking to exploit the value of its trademark even further byexploring licensing opportunities. It is looking for potential licensees who could take theproduct from production to market.

Problems and Challenges

Trademark Enforcement –

Despite the efforts made by the management of GRINGO to protect its mark inthe domestic as well as the international market its success has not been without problemsand challenges. Since 2006 GRINGO has been fighting in the Mozambican courts toprevent a soap factory from producing soap with a mark similar to GRINGO. To datethere has been no resolution. This brings to the forefront a common problem faced bymany small enterprises trying to use the intellectual property system; that of enforcement.These companies as with any business cannot afford the time and expense of trying toenforce their marks.

Environment Supportive of SME Growth –

Very few SMEs where ever they may be in the world can succeed without apolicy environment that is conducive to SME growth. This is particularly so in a leastdeveloped country such as Mozambique where the policy framework, infrastructure andother facilities would be far less developed than elsewhere in the world. Thus GRINGOwas faced with and continues to face an environment that is corrupt, that is obstructive(when it should be nurturing), that afford little or no facilities, notably credit and otherincentives to support the growth of such a company. These problems are furthercompounded by political interference and pressure by various parties seeking benefits.

Recommendations to SME

� Invest in Education.� Invest in Intellectual Property.� Use WIPO facilities and opportunities to reduce business risk and to grow.� Join the Cause of eradicating global hunger and misery.

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Statements

Mr Abdulla Abdul Karim, Owner and Executive Director, GRINGO, Ltd.

Presently we are working in the GRINGO Academic and Political Interventions, webelieve that, in parallel and simultaneously to financing and managing The CauseProjects, to win the global fight against poverty and misery, we have to convince theworld policy makers about the need for change and urgency in the matter. We are goingto find them and convince them, for sure. We have the best team in the world

Mr. Guriqbal Singh Jaiya, Director, SME Division, WIPO

The unfolding story of GRINGO is unique for any business and much more so fora small business. It is indeed remarkable that one of the first major business steps of Mr.Abdul Karim was the development of a comprehensive branding strategy and that toomuch before he launched the brand. What is equally remarkable is the fact that heunderpinned the branding effort by two trademarks: GRINGO and GNG, with the secondG in its inverted image. That he took steps to have not one but two trademarks, just likeMANGO and MNG, is a testimony to his foresight in anticipating a problem and dealingwith it much before it arose. Unlike most businessmen, he also took into account the factthat the national IP office could take a long time to register the trademarks; therefore, hefiled his trademark applications at the national IP office well in time so that by the timehe was ready to launch his first product under the trademarks they were already registeredin Mozambique. Even before I met with Mr. Karim in Maputo back in 2006, he had notonly done all that I have listed above but also got a brand audit done. In other words, hehad done a large number of very smart things, just like established companies do but aftermany years in business and more than what our training programs and guides could havetaught. He already had a very distinctive trade dress for his shops which helped increating in the potential customers an association and attachment for the (future)product(s). When GRINGO itself turned out to be not registrable in some countries,GNG filled the gap; GRINGO is protected in five countries and GNG in 34. From thevery inception GRINGO was going to be an ethical business focused on alleviatingpoverty. The cause was worthy and aligned with the brand; as a result it has consistentlyadded value to the brand. The brand thus became a cause brand. The GRINGO story hasshown that a small business can leverage the IP system just as smartly as a multinationalcompany. Hat's off to Mr. Karim and his philanthropic vision and total commitment tothe cause and the brand in equal measure!

Mrs. Tamara Nanayakkara, Counsellor SMEs division (responsible for preparing thiscase study)

Mr. Karim asked me to say a few words as to what it was like to write this casestudy. I have to say that it was an enriching and humbling experience to try tocommunicate his vision for his company, for his country and the world. We met him inAugust 2006 in Maputo and since then have been regularly interacting with him,

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culminating in this case study which tries to capture the multifaceted person that he is,that manifests itself in GRINGO. He is an astute businessman who has intuitively andnaturally used the IP system to its maximum advantage. More importantly, he sees hisbusiness as a means to fulfill his idealistic dreams of a world free of poverty andsuffering. He sees himself as a citizen of the world who has a responsibility to give backto society and he has "put his money where his mouth is" contributing half the incomegenerated by his business to social projects. We hope that by showcasing GRINGO wenot only provide to other businesses an excellent example of how the IP system can addvalue to a business but also what it means to be an ethical business.

Annexes:

GRINGO - The Cause Brand (2008)GRINGO - Ali Faque Video Spot (2008)GRINGO - Senso Comum (Word) (PDF)