Pranami Ltd CEO Anjan Shome and daughter Avanti Shome at Lion Place on July 2 /SHARON NGARI
For 18 years, Pranami Ltd has been the main newsprint supplier for the Star Publications.
The relationship started in 2007, when Sudhir Vidyarthi, Radio Africa Group director, introduced Pranami Ltd CEO Anjan Shome to William Pike, the man behind the Star
The paper was at the formative stage, and Shome would from that point become a key pillar in the publication’s growth, to date.
“I installed the machine. I arranged some paper from stock, a local stockist at that time, and the first lot supplied was from a firm called Palm Germany. It so happened around that time that you were just building up,” Shome told the Star in an interview.
“So you guys were not very familiar with the import formalities. We did everything, told you what to do and from that point, our relation started. And it has not stopped after that.”
It is also through Shome that the Star at some point had the best newsprint in the market while still a very fresh publication.
Shome narrates that two years after the launch, there was a newsprint shortage in the country.
As a stopgap measure, Shome spoke to his friend in Germany – Aaron Nichols – and asked him to supply some newsprint.
“Aaron, you have to buy some paper for them. And he got paper for you from a mill in Switzerland called Perne that is possibly the best newsprint paper which has come to Kenya,” he recalls.
“But there was a problem. Your customers only wanted that paper after that. And it's very difficult to get it because that was as a special arrangement. So we explained to William that this is not possible to sustain as it was a stopgap arrangement.”
On the Star marking 18 years, Shome says he is happy that he has been working with the publication since its launch.
“We are really serious about servicing you, about taking care of your needs like we were 18 years back. And I am a number guy: 18 is a very good number,’ he said.
Despite the digital disruption, Shome’s daughter, Avanti, believes print still has its place and role to play, particularly in Kenya.
“Kenya is one of the few African countries that still buy newsprint. We have a lot of mills in Europe that closed down the newsprint and shifted to sell in Kenya, that's why they really do pay more attention because they know this is one of the few markets where newsprint still is in demand,” Avanti said.
Shome said Africa and Asia will always require newsprint because “we guys can't do without holding a newspaper, including the newer generation”.
He said in India, for example, even the young generation wants a
physical newspaper.
He, however, notes the numbers are unlikely to go up, as “it is not a growth market”.
“Unless you come up with some innovation about marketing, having some add-ons, maybe some inserts, some educational value in the newspaper for children and college students,” he said.
Shome also said there is editorial content that can never be completely compensated by digital.
However, Avanti said geopolitics have heavily affected the newsprint business due to disruption in supply routes.
She said geopolitics has changed the entire global supply because shipping lines do not go through some areas.
