By Boris Esono Nwenfor
BUEA, February 5, 2024 – One All Sports and FECAFOOT on August 12, 2022, signed a three-year deal with the former becoming the official equipment supplier for Cameroon. More than one year since this groundbreaking deal for One All Sports on the continent, CEO David Mendelsohn says the relationship is going forward.
The deal was a major one for One All Sports who used it to make inroads in the manufacturing of equipment for national teams, having been involved in the past twenty years in sports-related apparel and accessories. Announcing the deal, FECAFOOT said the deal was the most lucrative equipment contract ever concluded by Cameroon, though the exact amount of the deal was not published.
“Not one doubt in our minds of the obligations and we’re all proud of this unique opportunity with the Cameroon Football Federation. We believe we have provided the best kit, designs and quality for the players, coaches and fans,” said David Mendelsohn, Chief Executive and Founder of One All Sports.
In an interview with Pan African Visions, the Chief Executive Officer narrates the journey so far with the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT, and discusses the nightmare that has been the working relationship between the company and the Bee Sarl Group.
May we know how Oneallsports is currently doing globally and specifically with its African networks or side of business?
David Mendelsohn: It’s coming off the back of COVID and like all businesses globally we had to navigate through this and pivot original ideas and plans that were in the works to keep afloat. It was a tough two years, but we pulled through, due to some in-house changes and re-focusing on the right supply chain, innovation and customer sectors.
One of the significant milestones was the partnership with the indomitable Lions of Cameroon ahead of the World Cup in Qatar; may we know how things have worked out?
David Mendelsohn: For the brand Oneallsports it was a dream come true. In hindsight, it was a rollercoaster having to turn around such an important project with all hands-on deck to make it come to fruition. In all honesty, it was touch and go, the reality in textiles is that lead-time and development have a normal critical path, but we superseded expectations.
We didn’t have a choice and no plan B, we signed the contract and straight into works to turn around a collection that would normally take 1-2 years of R&D, and we finished in 2 months.
It was Oneallsport’s first foray into Africa and it was a difficult uphill battle. Largely to the fact that the unveiling of the Cameroun National Teams Jersey and kit for the World Cup FIFIA Qatar was the last national team released two weeks before the games.
This had its challenges from day 1. However, we made it happen to kit out the National Federation Team and sell online globally with very good sales. It was a great achievement for the team and suppliers who came together to make this happen.
In terms of contractual obligations, are you satisfied with the work OneallSports has done with Cameroon?
David Mendelsohn: Not one doubt in our minds of the obligations and we’re all proud of this unique opportunity with the Cameroon Football Federation. We believe we have provided the best kit, designs and quality for the players, coaches and fans.
How is the working relationship with the Football Association of Cameroon, are they satisfied with the quality of your products and other contractual obligations?
David Mendelsohn: The relationship is going forward. As for quality, the president of the association Samuel Eto’o came first hand to visit Oneallsports and the factory to inspect all products and approve before going into bulk production. The intentions of the president of FECAFOOT showed his candid approach to being hands-on with these approvals.
OneallSports had this strategy of working with local partners to easily make products available, how has this worked out?
David Mendelsohn: As announced by FECAFOOT, Edimo Design is the official distribution partner for the licensed products we produce under license Oneallsports domestically in Cameroon. The partnership between Oneallsports and Edimo Design was always transparent, with good business and professional people. Edimo have always strived to be the best multi-store sportswear retailer in Cameroon, and we believe they will continue the success for many years to come. We wish them all the best in their endeavours.
There is this post about OneallSports, terminating the distribution agreement with Bee Sarl group. Can you shed light on this, especially on the figures involved?
David Mendelsohn: It’s an ongoing dilemma and concern. Bee Sarl was given the rights to re-sell Oneallsports license products for the National Cameroon Football team only in Cameroon through their dealer network such as Orange, SABC and others.
The pitch they presented to us was a last mile play with their Bee drivers of over 400 riders in the company, strong distribution, and finance to fund all business, so they said. They provided a presentation of their business with inventory EDI technology and last-mile digital tracking technologies for speed to market.
The C.E.O Patrick Timani asked to fly over to Asia to come see the factory and samples and discuss the forecast of the business he planned for the World Cup Products. Everything he discussed in front of the team and factory owner was all a bluff.
We signed in person the agreement which set out the T’s and C’s especially the payment conditions upfront, which never happened. Everything changed after the first two orders and the truth started to arise in a bitter and sore relationship due to huge orders placed and issues with finding money to pay for the goods. Everything that was presented to us was contrary to the contract we agreed and signed.
It was a real nightmare dealing with Patrick and our team, having so many excuses why they couldn’t pay for the goods they ordered, even asking us to take a 50% discount on products so they could make more money.
Patrick signed a 10% equity offer to Oneallsports as collateral due to the amount of debt owed and asked for us to release more goods. We still have goods in the factory from what he ordered and still not paid. It seemed we were dealing with someone who never had the finances in place even though we had commitments in writing of funds available for the products before ordering.
The situation got so bad that we had to engage in lawyers to recover the stock and debt that amounted to a huge amount of over a million euros. To date, we still have no payment and he’s still selling our goods.
How did you meet this partner, what diligence was done and how are their actions affecting the ability of OneallSports to meet its obligations?
David Mendelsohn: A person introduced us from France. He was one of the partners of Bee Sarl, as they agreed to an equity split in the business and he would drive the operations and help with sales. He also vouched for this person and joined to help grow the business together and was frequent between France and Cameroon during the contract time.
We had done our due diligence with the fact Bee Sarl won an award and grant from Google, which the C.E.O. gloated about at the time. They used this as one of the backbones of the business to fund the goods they ordered, which we thought was a red flag from the time of communication.
We also wanted to help a local Cameroon start-up company scale and grow with our partnership with the distribution channels they had into the major wholesalers in Cameroon, which we thought was wrong.
What other measures have you tried or have in mind to get this partner to meet their obligations to OneallSports?
David Mendelsohn: We had no other choice but to engage in lawyers, because Bee Sarl, didn’t agree to pay for what they ordered, imported under their company and sold most of the stock. It’s over a year since we gave them ample time to sell and pay back the debt. They asked to sign a settlement agreement that would remove 500,000 euros of invoices unpaid, but we declined for obvious reasons.
Besides that, how will you sum up the investment climate in Cameroon, what are some other experiences you have had doing business there?
David Mendelsohn: Bee Sarl has caused major damage and also inflicted issues with Edimo Design and FECAFOOT which has left a sore taste for all of us.
How do you envisage the future of the partnership between OneallSports and the Cameroon FA?
David Mendelsohn: We have a multi-year deal, the plans and strategy were a long-term relationship and growth in other parts of Africa, which we had started before the Cameroon Football Federation. If Bee Sarl decide to not pay the debt this not only affects Oneallsports, suppliers but FECAFOOT and all of Cameroon who purchased products through them and still buy.
What other strategy is OneallSports using to broaden its base into the huge market that Africa represents?
David Mendelsohn: We have our strategy, vision, and plans, which we will unveil when the time comes.
Any last word as we wrap up this interview?
David Mendelsohn: It’s a dream come true to work with any federation; however, we have the utmost respect for Cameroon FECAFOOT, all the players, staff, and president. An iconic country when I visited the people, passion and love for this sport football will always be a life-long memory and a special place in our hearts.
