Page 77 - KZN Leaders Portfolio E-BOOK 2107

Managing Director of Boxer Superstores
E UGENE STOOP, managing director of Boxer developed the BoMM system (Boxer Merchandise
Management System); the core of which is still being used
twenty years later.”
Superstores, celebrated his 26th year of working at
Another noteworthy event was the opening of the
the company on the 15 June 2017.
shoppers who rushed in resulted in the store’s turnstiles
Stoop says that he has had “an incredible first Mtubatuba store. Over the first day the mass of
journey with the brand”. His passion for the Boxer at the entrance being ripped out of the floor and pushed
Superstores success goes beyond profits but is evident to the back of the store. In addition, the opening day
in his commitment to the brand’s goal of being Africa’s store turnover figure was a record that stood for many
Favourite Discount Supermarket, a real understanding years to come.
of the numerous stores’ customers, an investment in the However, growth and change does not happen without
company’s employees as well as a vision for the future.
stressors. The expansion of the business and entry into
Of significance is that Boxer Superstores celebrates other provinces meant a change in the brand identity was
its 40th year of operation in 2017. Boxer started its necessary. In 1997, a new corporate identity logo was
journey as a wholesaler in the very early days, but adopted and the trading retail name was changed to ‘Boxer
has continued to evolve itself over the years. The Superstores’ in order to better reflect its role as a retailer.
company’s beginnings were as a family run business; Removing the ‘boxer man’ totally from the logo caused
trading in essential commodities such as maize meal, Stoop some sleepless nights as he was not sure what the
rice, samp, sugar, oil and beans. KwaZulu Cash & Carry response by customers would be to the decision both he
was established in Empangeni, followed by stores in and the marketing director made. However, the evolved
Pietermaritzburg and Pinetown.
brand logo was received favourably by consumers showing
In 1988, a small group of prominent KwaZulu-Natal the brand’s strength in the market.
investors acquired the business. Consequently in 1991, the
trading stores were re-launched under the name of ‘Boxer The need to remain modern and relevant to shoppers
Cash & Carry’. As Stoop’s entire early working career had has meant that Boxer’s marketing and community
been in the wholesale and retail industry he was offered a involvement is totally different from 20 years ago. “As we
position in the then Empangeni based business. After a six have evolved as a brand so have our customers and it has
month period their offices moved to Pinetown to be more been imperative that we have grown with our customers’
centrally located closer to its supplier base. ideals and aspirations in order to remain relevant.”
In 2002, Boxer was acquired by Pick n Pay as a
Over the years, Stoop’s Boxer journey has seen a
number of highlights, which have marked the evolution subsidiary and has enjoyed the benefits of its parent
company to enable growth while also having the freedom
of the brand and the growth in the number of stores to operate independently. Pick n Pay has fully endorsed
and divisions.
Boxer’s continued growth in its store numbers and full
One of Stoop’s first priorities was to put structure into service offerings. The company now numbers over 240
this retail business. The company needed a proper buying Boxer stores across its many formats. In 2012 Boxer
department and a basic stock control system, which was opened its own meat factory in Salt Rock and is the only
a big focus area with aggressive roll out plans that was South African retailer its size to have a meat processing
expected from Boxer. plant, which provides a competitive advantage by
giving its shoppers affordable protein. In order to deliver
At this time the stores had a limited range of about 300
items, which was expanded, as part of the initial goal was on customers’ expectations when it comes to stock
to change the stores image from a wholesaler to that of a availability, a distribution centre was establishment in
retailer business, which it successfully did by the middle of KwaZulu-Natal. Stores are located in all provinces of South
the 1990s. Africa as well as in Swaziland with room for an increase in
store numbers to continue due to customer demand.
Stoop added, “Opening the first bakery in Pietermaritzburg
was, a big day in the life of Boxer. The bakeries became Boxer Superstore branches are being upgraded on a
a huge success and are still one of the pillars of Boxer’s phased approach to be “new generation stores” which
business today. meet the needs of the customer as well as enable Boxer
to offer that much more. By the end of 2017, 70% of the
Following from that success and on the urging of its refurbishments will be complete.
customers, Boxer then included butcheries in its offering
which were a natural progression and part of repositioning Stoop concluded, “We like to say that we are forty years
the brand as a retail store.” young; there is so much that we are still working on for
the future which is exciting. Everyone talks about change,
A highlight, Stoop said, was the establishment of a formal in Boxer change is constant; we change every day to meet
administration system in the company. “Computerisation our customers’ needs. We are not scared to try new things
was a big issue for us especially as many of the growing and to make things better, simpler, more efficient, more
number of stores were in, then, rural areas distant from cost effective. The journey now is the most exciting time in
the head office. Boxer employed an IT specialist who Boxer’s story.”

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