july2017

82 83 age in the warehouse. Alexandre acknowledges, “My grandfather was old school and believed I needed to work my way up. After proving my- self, he one day invited me inside - and I never left.” In 2014, Alexandre became full owner and CEO when his mother, Ramona Pariente, retired after 28 years at Safari Ltd. Stacie Beavers, Director of Business Devel- opment for Safari Ltd., says, “Demand for our product has grown, and now we want to share our vision with the world. Since Alexandre took over, there has been a shift towards creating global awareness for our brand.We are stream- lining our processes and investing in technolo- gy, marketing and sales aspects to prepare for continued expansion.” The company sells direct- ly to the U.K. and Canada, and distributes across the U.S. from its Miami warehouse. Internation- ally, it works with distributors based in Japan, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, UAE, and South America. Safari Ltd. employs about 60 people, known in-house as “Safarians”, at their Miami Lakes global headquarters. “Our company invests a lot, not only in technology, but also in our employ- ees. To attract and retain top talent, we built a fun family-like culture centered around provid- ing a fantastic work/life balance to promote a healthy lifestyle. The perks range from 7½ hour workdays to events and challenges hosted by SAFARI LTD. AT A GLANCE SAFARI LTD. WHAT: Family-owned man- ufacturer and worldwide distributor of educational, hand-painted toys WHERE: MIami, Florida WEBSITE: www.safariltd.com our corporate wellness team, SafariFit, designed to improve both fitness and wellbeing with topics such as nutrition, financial wellness, and stress management.” Safari fills an important niche in the toy sec- tor. According to Beavers, “We are one of the top companies in the animal figures market.What sets us apart is the pride we take in listening to our customers, and using those insights to make informed, customer-centric decisions that span from internal processes to new products. Our sales representatives, dubbed ‘Toy Gurus,’