About Us

With more than a century’s worth of experience offering specialised sales and marketing of branded household durables, Home of Living Brands Limited is a proudly South African company. We have an unparalleled track record of providing our operating markets with world-class products sourced from local and international markets.

From Blaupunkt in 1920 to Russell Hobbs in 2012, our intentional association and collaboration with premium brands has been the cornerstone to our sustained success. Over the years, our corporate identity has been synonymous with growth, innovation, and market disruption. We were the first group to bring the iconic Sony franchise to Sub-Saharan Africa in 1960 and went on to manufacture the trusted Sony television sets locally in 1974. 

Initially Tedelex Limited, the then Amalgamated Appliances formed after the combination of the appliances interests of Malbak and the Lion Match Company (then a subsidiary of Sa Breweries Limited). The Lion Match Company took care of Salton, Berda, Pineware and Rowenta, while Malbak continued with HAZ, Tedelex Housewares and Westpoint.

We challenged ourselves to compete in the small appliances market in 1980 by offering HAZ, Westpoint, Rowenta, and Sunbeam branded products. 1993 saw the purchase of Salton and Berda and in 1995, the Hoover license was acquired. 

We moved into the electrical accessories and lighting market in 1998 following the acquisition of Pace-Grandom, a market leading retailer distributor, and the following year, Tedelex Trading (Pty) Ltd  was acquired as a subsidiary of the Amalgamated Appliances Holding Limited, formed in 1991, bringing with it the Santronics and Empisal, a truly South African sewing and haberdashery goods supplier, continues to be a favourite sewing destination.  

Salton Inc. acquired a stake in Amalgamated Appliances in 1999, which by then had also acquired licences for Sansui, Pioneer, Toshiba and Brother. 

We solidified our position in the small appliances space by acquiring Russell Hobbs and George Foreman licenses in 2004. We ultimately secured the rights to exclusively distribute Russell Hobbs small appliances to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2012. 

The turn of the decade brought with an opportunity to take up space in the personal care sector, and we acquired Remington, a global leader and innovator of affordable personal care products.

In 2010, we started our journey with Wiltshire and in May/June, we started our drive into Africa. Spectrum was acquired in 2011.

Other milestones such as Russell Hobbs’ glass touch range being brought into South Africa helped set new standards in technology with the innovative touch control technology and cool blue panel display.

While we made a strategic decision to leave the television business in early 2010, handing the reigns over to Tellumat, the television and satellite accessories market has continued to hold value for us – this informed the decision to acquire Samsat and Aerial King in 2012. 

The Berzacks homewares division acquisition has been an unprecedented success for the group and the decision to bring them under our umbrella in 2018 was an obvious choice.

On the 2nd of July 2013, Amalgamated Appliance Holdings Limited was acquired in full by the Bidvest Group and delisted from the JSE. We continue to be, Proudly Bidvest.

Recognizing the importance of a diverse and comprehensive product range, Home of Living Brands made strategic acquisitions of prominent homewares brands from 2018. Brands like Greenpan, Amefa, Tescoma, Zyliss, Cole & Mason, Richardson Sheffields, Bohemia Cristal, Simax, Borgonova and O’lala. These brands breathed new life into the product category, infusing it with much-needed diversity and catering to a wider range of customer preferences.

In 2019, Home of Living Brands successfully launched the Russell Hobbs ecommerce, a which allowed us to reach a wider audience.

The Bidvest group, In 2019,  made a strategic decision to move Home of Living Brands from Commercial Products to Branded Products, allowing us to optimize our focus on delivering exceptional products to our target audience.

In 2022, an exciting chapter unfolded with the rebranding and revitalization of the DigiTech brand. Home of Living Brands embraced the latest advancements in smart home and security technology, reaffirming DigiTech’s position as a purveyor of quality and cutting-edge products.

Aerial King, a division of Home of Living Brands continued its tradition of excellence, offering top-quality products and services for both customers and installers. The unveiling of the new Nasrec branch, in early 2023 was a sneak peek into the brand’s updated image, reflecting the brand’s dedication to staying ahead of the curve.

As Home of Living Brands continues to forge a path of success and innovation, it remains committed to embracing new challenges, expanding its product offerings, and setting higher standards for customer satisfaction.