African Sales Co (Pty) Ltd | 225 Second St Cnr Sixteenth Rd, Halfway House Estate, Midrand South 1685, Gauteng

Forced to leave their home in Berlin, Germany because of Nazi persecution, ASCO was founded by brothers Herbert and Richard Priebatsch in 1936, while a third founder, Siegfried Frankel, also from Germany, provided the starting capital of 5,000 pounds, which still reflects in the balance sheet as R10,000. ASCO was registered in 1937, based in Africa House in Johannesburg central, from which the name was derived. The company started trading as a wholesale distributor of millinery, specialty accessories used to adorn the heads of fashionable women of the time. 1939 marked outbreak of World War II. Herbert and Richard Priebatsch joined the Union of South Africa military, while Siegfried Frankel liquidated his capital investment and retired from the company. On Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) May 8th 1945, Richard Priebatsch sailed for the United States searching for trading agencies to expand their wholesale distribution. It was at this time when ASCO advanced into fine fragrances and cosmetics, when Richard sign