A new contact centre for the UK’s second-largest retailer, Asda, will create 250 new jobs in Cape Town.
The contact centre will be run by business process outsourcing (BPO) company Merchants, and is expected to employ 680 people by the end of 2013.
The new centre will accommodate for the growth of the Asda account and is expected to generate 250 new jobs by December.
“The BPO industry provides a great career path with job opportunities at various levels, especially for the youth of our province,” says Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, speaking at the centre’s opening.
“Through this and other investments, Cape Town has firmly established itself as the international BPO destination of choice.”
Global BPO Merchants, part of the Dimension Data group, has created more than 1 500 jobs in the Western Cape through contact centre investment from Australian ISP iiNet, UK telecoms company EE (T-Mobile and Orange) and UK retailer Asda.
“Of the 1 500 jobs, 1 000 have been created between March 2012 and April 2013 which highlights the growth of the BPO and offshoring sector in the region,” says Martin Dove, managing executive: contact centre solutions at Dimension Data Middle East and Africa.
“Asda is a world class business with more than 18-million customers. The fact that they have chosen Cape Town to service their customers in the UK speaks volumes about the quality of our people and I am confident that the centre will continue to go from strength to strength,” says Gareth Pritchard, CEO of BPeSA Western Cape.
Asda is South Africa’s longest operating BPO client, having been with the Merchants group since 2004.