ACKERMANS: Ackermans Brings Value to Life Everyday

When Gus Ackerman opened his historic first store in Wynberg he immediately created a place where customers could find great products at unprecedented prices, providing value fashion for the whole family and creating an ethos to which Ackermans remains dedicated today. “Continuously setting the standard for value and affordability and with a wide selection of fashion for ladies, kids, and babies, as well as, cellular and key financial products, we’ll keep bringing value to your life every day.”

Now more than 100 years on from its most humble of beginnings, Ackermans clothing has been tirelessly committed to bringing the best in quality to value-seeking South Africans, year after year, in its quest to make value-for-money products affordable to an increasingly broad audience.

Although the strength of the brand means its customer base is always evolving and growing, Ackermans’ shoppers typically juggle many roles and responsibilities and are generally strongly family-focused. This makes it especially imperative that they be able to pay less without compromising on quality or style in their retail pursuits, leaving savings to be put to the most rewarding and worthwhile use to explore all that life has to offer.

SHINING STARS OF RETAIL

“Our customers have been at the heart of our story for over 100 years,” Ackermans explains. “We’re with you for the balancing act of family life – we understand the pressure on your pockets and we get that every little helps.” To this end, budgets can be effectively adhered to with a breadth of financial solutions and various bill payment facilities alongside a range of payment methods including shop on credit, purchase on lay-by or cash payments in-store.

Ackermans is firmly established among the South African leaders for customer brand satisfaction in clothing retailers, a standing which is consistently reinforced by the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi). In 2015 it was rated the second best in the country behind only Woolworths and ahead of PEP Stores – another subsidiary of Ackermans’ owners, Pepkor – and led the way in the fields of overall satisfaction and exceeding customer expectations with an overall rating of 80.9 out of 100.

The undisputed leader in baby and children’s wear, these triumphs have been echoed many times since for Ackermans. It has been the recipient of the top prize for children’s clothing in the Ask Afrika survey 2018 for numerous consecutive years, and the Daily Sun Readers’ Choice platinum winner in multiple categories at its most recent iteration.

Value-for-money products at competitive prices, multiple payment options, a focus on store accessibility and a busy promotions calendar all underpinned by a culture of unbending focus on service; all have been instrumental in constructing the reputation it now enjoys, but of course it would all be for nought without the extraordinary expertise and efforts of its nearly 10,000-strong staff compliment.

“Our people are the real stars of our business,” Ackermans makes clear. “We call ourselves Phadimas, which means ‘shine’ in Northern Sotho, and we work hard to have a company where we can all do just that. We believe in looking after our people,” Ackermans asserts, which translates to tertiary education bursaries for both Phadimas and their children, schooling and creche benefits and staff discount, bolstered by uninhibited access to its wellness service.

The overarching mission of each Ackermans store is to strive to make the greatest range of products affordable to everyone, and the Ackermans experience centres on its philosophy of ‘bringing value to life’. “This idea guides Ackermans employees in their work and gives the brand focus as it seeks to bring value to customers, employees and local communities.

“‘Bringing Value to Life’ is not just a catchphrase. The philosophy sits at the core of Ackermans’ operational structures and informs decision-making at every level. Prioritising values of courage, respect, integrity, simplicity and performance ensures that Ackermans is able to attract and retain the best individuals, suppliers and partners to its business.”

REBUILD AND EXPAND

Ackermans was bought by Pepkor in 1986, and is now one of the most important operating subsidiaries of the South African-based investment and holding company with the largest retail store footprint in southern Africa: more than 5,000 stores are operated in total across 10 African countries, and its businesses number many of the most trusted brands on the continent. Retail delivers the vast majority of Pepkor’s revenue and profit, however such a vast presence had the adverse effect of putting it in the firing line of the unrest which scarred 2021, leaving it one of the most severely hit of all major South African enterprises.

Almost 500 of its stores were looted, damaged or destroyed representing nearly 10% of its entire retail portfolio, and, on top of this already extensive toll of damage and disruption to its supply chain and distribution operations, Pepkor was also forced to close many more stores as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of employees and customers across the affected areas. Numerous additional steps, including tactical security, were taken to safeguard the group’s distribution infrastructure and assets.

The resultant clean-up operations and the reopening and restocking of stores commenced almost immediately, however, repairing the up to R1.3 billion of destruction and rapidly allowing stores to reopen. CEO Leon Lourens reported that by mid-November as many as 460 had resumed business, leaving only those which had suffered more extensive and structural damage.

It was remarkable progress which helped to prevent any detriment to the company’s typical annual store opening program, but neither will it hamper the post-pandemic expansion drive which Pepkor is aggressively pursuing. “We’ve already opened the taps again and all the divisions will start growing again,” Lourens said in November, growth which translates to intending to open 300 stores annually for the next three to five years in a concerted low-cost clothing push.

The ramping up of expansion comes as the strict Covid-19 restrictions that curbed the sale of non-essential items look highly unlikely to return, combined with a greater desire on shoppers’ parts to seek out cheaper clothing. Government grants have also helped some of the poorest South Africans be able to shop.

“Pepkor brands are part of the fabric of southern African life. We believe in giving people, especially those with limited disposable income, the opportunity to live their lives with dignity, respect and pride,” Pepkor summarises, a perfect synergy with the Ackermans’ own ethos and driving it to open up such opportunities as widely as is possible. “We have done this for more than 100 years and will continue to do so through our trusted brands, giving South Africans the right products, at the right price, and at their convenience.”