ACKERMANS: Vision of Value at Ackermans’ Heart

Family comes first, and always will: this is the central doctrine shared by South Africa’s value retailer, and that which originally inspired founder Gus Ackerman to cut the ribbon on his historic first store in Wynberg; immediately, he succeeded in creating 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.

 “We are a leading value fashion retailer for the whole family – continuously setting the standard for value and affordability,” says the South African stalwart. “With a wide selection of fashion for ladies, kids, babies and men, as well as homeware, cellular and key financial products, we’ll keep bringing value to your life every day.”

 Paying less without compromising on either quality or style is the Ackerman’s way, always important but primordial now up when cash is increasingly having to be squeezed harder and harder to facilitate all of the important things in life. “We call it Bringing Value to Life, and it’s what we work toward every day,” is the commitment that Ackermans has evinced for more than a century.

COMPETITIVE VALUE

“Our customers have been at the heart of our story for over 100 years,” Ackermans explains, and one of the many elements to the Ackermans brand is the breadth the of the audience it attracts, comprising value-seeking consumers spanning a host of roles and responsibilities but with one definite commonality: they are generally strongly family-focused.

 “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,” Ackermans vows, responding with the tireless and unending bid to offer value-for-money products at competitive prices, along with multiple payment options. “These are supported by a strong service culture, a focus on store accessibility and a busy promotions calendar,” the company adds.

 Ackermans resides within the Pepkor Holdings family, whose total 5,470 stores operating across 10 African countries give it the largest retail store footprint in southern Africa to flaunt many of the most trusted brands on the continent. Pepkor and Ackermans are a perfect fit, and their respective ethe have many synergies. Like Ackermans, Pepkor began life over 100 years ago and has, too, built a reputation of giving South Africans the right products, at the right price and at their convenience.

 Ackermans also fits in well with Pepkor’s bid to dominate in the discount and value market segment, one which it has found to enjoy natural resilience in large part thanks to customers’ ability to buy ‘up’ or ‘down’ according to both their budgets and prevailing economic conditions. “Pepkor’s long success rests on its understanding of, and strong relationships with, its customers,” it further echoes. “Pepkor brands are part of the fabric of southern African life.

 “Deep, market-specific knowledge is the foundation of the group’s strategic and operational ability and has allowed Pepkor brands to offer southern African customers, especially those with limited disposable income, access to an extensive range of value-for-money products and the opportunity to live their lives with dignity, respect and pride. We have done this for more than 100 years and will continue to do so through our trusted brands.”

 Under this most trusty of wings since 1986, Ackermans has grown into one of Pepkor’s most important operating subsidiaries, as well as one of its most profitable and robust, which unceasingly grows its market share as savvy consumers abandon retailers for whom value and service are merely meaningless buzzwords. Popular throughout the generations and genders, it is without doubt the baby and children’s wear segment for which Ackermans is most vehemently celebrated, and recognition for which dominates the many, many awards that it has garnered through the decades.

 Not a year has passed since 2010 that Ackermans has not received the plaudits of some of the key industry honours – the Times Sowetan Retail Awards, Best of Bloemfontein Reader’s Choice Awards and Kasi Star Brands Survey among them – for its junior lines, and number one for children’s clothing over multiple years in the Ask Afrika survey. One fabric in particular has allowed Ackermans to have this category well and truly sewn up, with durable, versatile and cost-effective denim an all-occasion champion for arguably the most sartorially discerning customers.

 “Ackerman’s kids’ denims are durable and can be mixed and matched to create outfits for all occasions,” the company declares. “And the best of all is they don’t cost an arm and a leg.”

 VALUE TO LIFE

 Once again, this perfectly illustrates the Pepkor-Ackermans team-up delivering veritable value by using world-class systems and processes, ones that ensure cost efficiency as well as product quality. “By keeping our costs low, we give more customers the opportunity to look and feel good,” Ackermans reasons, and the overarching mission of each and every one of its stores is to make the greatest range of products affordable to everyone.

 The Ackermans experience centres on its philosophy of ‘bringing value to life’, guiding Ackermans’ more than 8,000 employees in their work and giving the brand focus as it seeks to bring value to customers, staff and local communities. “‘Bringing Value to Life’ is not just a catchphrase,” Ackermans stipulates. “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.” Perhaps the greatest testament to the success of this approach is in the ever-swelling number of Ackermans stores, sites and outlets decorating South Africa’s key retail locations. That 15 of these have appeared in only the last month is quite staggering; it is a feat arguably dwarfed by the opening of 50 last year, in the context of Covid’s continuing chaos.

Ackermans remains very much alive and well, then – better than ever, in fact, and unlikely to be forced to confirm its own living status any time soon, as was the case for founder Raymond Ackerman in November. “I’m fit and well,” he declared, as rumours of his demise abounded, and the same can be confidently said of Ackermans’ prosperity. As Pepkor neatly closes: “We make a positive difference to the lives of our customers and the communities in which we operate by providing easy access to everyday products and services at the best price.

“Every Pepkor business maintains an ongoing focus on the group’s ultimate purpose: to make a positive difference in the lives of our customers.”