Food, clothing and homeware chain Woolworths markets itself as a high-quality, good-value retailer where shoppers can rely on the quality attached to the brand. Clothing and accessories group Edgars Consolidated (Edcon) - owner of chains such as Edgars and Sales House - markets itself as a retailer of high-quality, fashionable goods. (See table on Retail.)
Both target mainly mid- to high-income buyers, with Edcon targeting some low-income buyers as well. Both draw shoppers from across the colour spectrum, though, executives concur, revenue growth will probably come predominantly from the black market.
Both companies have large, unionised, mostly black sales forces. However, higher up in the groups, the managements of both are mostly white.
With estimated broad-based scores of 26,8 and 24,7 respectively, the groups have achieved comparable progress in the field of empowerment. On closer analysis, the similarity between the companies' empowerment strategies is uncanny.
Both have achieved high scores on employment equity and skills development; neither has any direct black ownership and so far both score poorly on management quotas of blacks and women.
Woolworths has paid attention to affirmative-procurement practices and enterprise development. However, those efforts are not reflected in these rankings because of a lack of information. So far, though Edgars argues that it has made progress in procuring goods and services from businesses owned or run by previously disadvantaged entrepreneurs, Empowerdex argues that its efforts are not significant.
CEO Stephen Ross says that Edcon recognises that black economic empowerment (BEE) is "critical to SA's social and economic transformation". Ross says the group's response - in the form of its skills development, employment equity and procurement strategy efforts - has been approached in tandem with a drive to improve employee perceptions of the business.
One of Edcon's first challenges was to persuade the unions of its sincerity to get employee buy-in. The "employer of choice" campaign began with an agreement between labour and the company to introduce an increased focus on training; employee participation in medical aid and retirement funds; and communication with employees through newsletters and its internal radio station in stores and videos.
"During the year an employee perception survey was conducted throughout the group which shows perceptions have improved," says Ross.
Edcon regards its employment-equity programme as in the interests of employees and the business. The group's first employment-equity strategy was submitted to government in June 2000, with updated plans agreed to in 2001 and 2002.
The employment-equity committee, chaired by Ross and with union representation, manages this process.
"The role of the employment equity committee is to formulate and implement the employment-equity strategy and measure achievements," says Ross.
As part of Edcon's strategy to ensure that more black employees move into higher-skilled jobs, the company makes bursaries available to staff and runs a buyer and planner trainee programme.
Once employees have been assessed to find gaps in their abilities to do their jobs, training is offered to bridge these gaps. Though all staff are included, most trainees on past programmes have been black. In this way, employees are given the opportunity to develop themselves and appropriately qualified black staff move into more senior positions within the group.
A pilot e-learning programme is also being pursued in an attempt to reduce education costs, expand the courses on offer and make training more accessible.
Edcon says it uses its considerable purchasing power to foster black economic empowerment; in other words it has an affirmative-procurement strategy.
The group procurement strategy provides for the identification of black-owned enterprises and the setting of targets to ensure that expenditure is diverted to black suppliers.
All current suppliers will also be rated on their empowerment credentials.
Woolworths, too, aspires to become the employer of choice by providing a work environment that "will attract, retain and energise high-performing employees of choice".
CEO Simon Sussman says the group has gone some way to achieving this.
"Communication groups in each store, our W-Indaba bimonthly in-house television broadcast and a host of other formal and informal processes continue to drive this goal," states the group.
In a bid to develop the skills of employees to the best of the group's ability, Woolworths achieved formal accreditation as a learning provider.
"The company's skills plan exceeds legislative requirements by a substantial margin," says Sussman.
