One of the Biggest Suppliers

The Ramsi Group is one of the biggest suppliers of sewing machines and spare parts in the country.  The company supplies over 10 000 spare parts for all sewing machines and has a range of 20 industrial and domestic Saito sewing machines, cutting and steam equipment. The group also manufactures and distributes its own brand of household oil / lubricant.

Ramsi Group comprises two divisions namely retail, and import and distribution. Products are sourced from Germany, Vietnam, the US, China, Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia. An extensive distribution network of over 560 dealers has been established country wide and the company even supplies its competitors. The company supplies distributors in Nambia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana.

The Ramsi Group was founded as a retail outlet in 1980, by G Ram Ramlall and his wife Lalitha. Ram Ramlall started the small business as a distributor for Singer with a capital of R3 000 in the Good Hope Centre of Durban's CBD. He decided that he would prefer to have control over his own brand and product rather than work for someone else. Since then the company has grown dramatically and operates from Dennis Hurley Street in Durban supported by a warehouse in Williams Road.  Although Ram stepped down as chief executive in 2000, he continues to play an active part in the business as Operations Director. The company is still very much a family business with Ram's son Sherwin having taken the reigns as CEO, and his brother Shawn, joining the business as Technical Director. The Ramsi Group has always recognised the value of loyalty to customers, suppliers and staff which has been a significant factor in the success of the business. The exponential growth over the last 34 years has been driven by referrals from satisfied customers. This bears testament to how customer satisfaction has translated into customer retention and customer loyalty.

Quality and Values

Quality is also central to the success of the company.  Sherwin Ramlall has realised the growth potential of their sewing machine service operation by ensuring attention to detail, reliability of their service and repairs.  The Ramsi Group now boasts the biggest technical workshops in KwaZulu-Natal. The technicians have a solution centric approach to the many hurdles of the complicated repairs that are resolved on a daily basis.

The Ramsi Group has maintained its original offering, retailing and servicing sewing machines. The growth has been achieved by introducing more services and more products, and the Saito sewing machines are a vital component of this strategy.

Wide Range of Products

The products currently supplied range from manual, home-use sewing machines to advanced overlocking and multifunction machines.  The industrial sewing machines range from a regular straight-stitch machine to the highly-sophisticated industrial embroidery machine.

A popular product is the Saito 1809, which is the fastest selling product.  Almost 3000 of these exceptional quality machines are sold annually.  The machine's operation is basic, which means that anyone from children to average sewers can use it with ease.