Transformation
Procurement and enterprise development
We strive to provide customers with differentiated, exclusive and value-for-money merchandise. To meet the needs of customers, merchandise is sourced from local suppliers and through imports, mainly from the Far East. While imports currently account for 24% of merchandise, the group continues to work in partnership with local suppliers to design merchandise which is appealing to the customer base.
A substantial volume of merchandise is procured from small businesses which are mainly owned by persons from designated groups. Payment terms are 30 days which supports the cash flows of these suppliers.
During 2008/09 we bought approximately 40% of furniture from BEE suppliers, 90% of vehicles from a BEE dealership and some 30% of rental premises are owned or controlled by previously disadvantaged individuals.
Corporate social investment
We are committed to uplifting the communities in which we operate, seeking to be recognised by these communities as a dependable, caring and ethical corporate citizen. This is projected in our corporate social investment (CSI) programme which supports communities close to our business operations and close to where staff live.
The CSI strategy is to identify projects which are sustainable, show measurable results and offer the greatest social impact and value for the company. The primary focus areas are education and training, followed by health and social development.
The main projects we currently support are:
Project Build provides educational and community facilities for disadvantaged communities in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal. The project brings together communities, funders, sponsors and local builders to develop these facilities while creating employment and providing classrooms for children. In partnership with Project Build, we built five classrooms for schools in rural areas of Stanger and Tongaat.
Monte Christo is a feeding kitchen in Paarl. We fund equipment to enable the facility to provide daily meals for over 3 600 children in accordance with guidelines from the Peninsula School Feeding Association.
Children of the Dawn supports rural community initiatives which focus on caring for HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children. We have increased our sponsorship from 45 to 83 children and the funding covers schooling, food, clothing and health care, including HIV/AIDS treatment.
SA Children’s Home in Gardens, Cape Town, provides a home for boys and girls who have generally been placed in the home via the social services. We support the home with furniture and fund the schooling needs of the children.
Family Reunion Centre is based in Paarl and also has a facility in Krugersdorp in Gauteng. This care centre provides impoverished pensioners in the Boland with food parcels, as well as caring for homeless people and single mothers and operating a soup kitchen for school children.
Other projects we support are the Peninsula School Feeding Association in the Western Cape, the Amy Biehl Foundation and the Community Chest.
The CSI programme also includes communities in the neighbouring countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland where the group has a retail presence. We support the SOS Children’s Homes in these countries with merchandise as well as funding for operating expenses.