The retail sector has been mentioned often as one of the least transformed on the JSE. In a recent FM Cover Story (February 2), many retail companies were identified as potential targets of the Public Investment Corporation's (PIC) wrath about lack of transformation at board and senior management level.
When questioned about this, retailers often say theirs is a different kind of game and it takes time to groom people for top jobs. Senior executives have to "pay their dues" by working from the bottom up. It's imperative to understand what sells, why it sells and to whom it sells. The only way this can be achieved is through experience - and it takes time.
Of all industries, it seems retail requires more of an innate ability to trade than most others, and top retailers all over the world tend to be born, not made. Little wonder, then, that it takes time to groom people for top positions in the industry.
It's unfortunate that so many retailers and other consumer companies are seen as either partially or not at all transformed at management level.
Retailing is a combination of science and art. SA retailers are rated among the best in the world and they strive to maintain this position. But they've often been at the forefront of change in the country too, notably at Pick 'n Pay and Woolworths, which both defied government edicts to enforce petty apartheid in the 1970s and 1980s.
Likewise, JD Group employed people equally in the 1980s, long before it was deemed fashionable to do so and before employment quotas came in. During the 1980s, female store managers were scarce at JD Group. Today women are represented in senior management positions.
Not only is it desirable to promote from within an organisation but it's often less costly, as outsiders often get tempted with lucrative offers to leave. "We have a full commitment to appointing black people to all levels of the business by bringing them up through the ranks," says JD Group corporate service director Jan Bezuidenhout. And while not immediately obvious, it's likely that JD Group's management will demonstrate a more representative face in future. "We've created shadow management situations - it's only a matter of time before black senior management becomes apparent in large numbers."
It's undeniable that the great majority of shoppers these days are black. Thus, while there are no external dynamics like government contracts at play - as there are in the financial services world, for example - retailers must be cognisant of the fact that their constituency, their shoppers, are predominantly black.
Only a foolish businessman would ignore SA's consumer dynamics. Consumer confidence is at a record high and rising. Fixed investment spending is about to take off after decades of neglect.
This will create huge numbers of jobs and the new workers will be looking to spend their money. Thus, though the boom times in retail between 2003 and 2005 are probably over for now, it's likely that strong consumer spending will be sustained for at least the next four to five years.
Woolies human resources director Zyda Rylands highlights the advancement of black management in the company. One of the biggest challenges facing Rylands and her department is leadership capacity. "We're fast-tracking people into management," she says.
