Tradition guides J&E Wholesalers' future - Supermarket.co.za

Wholesale storewatch
Tradition guides
J&E Wholesalers’ future
J&E Wholesalers in Pretoria tracks back to over a century of shop history and attracts customers across provinces.
J&E Wholesalers is one of the few remaining traditional
wholesalers in the industry and recently celebrated its relaunch
By Michel Mack
“We are likely the last genuine
wholesaler left that solely sells to
licensed traders,” says MD, Solly
Joosub. This has always secured
extensive customer loyalty and
brought the store to where it
is today. J&E Wholesalers as a
company was founded in 1945 but
tracks back to over a century in the
hands of the Joosub family. Recent
rejoining and rebranding as Shield
brings lots of new opportunities
to take the wholesaler to the next
level.
Humble beginnings
Solly Joosub left school and took charge of
the store in 1960 after his father suffered a
severe heart attack. Back then, the store had
roughly 250m 2 trading area available and
operated as a conventional wholesaler. Sales
representatives would go into the
Store J&E Wholesalers
Location: WF Nkomo Street
(previously Church Street),
Pretoria
Site: 6 300m 2
Staff complement: 60
Transactions: 6 000 per month
Average basket: R5 000
townships, take orders and then arrange
delivery. Legislation in those days did not
permit wholesalers to deliver past a radius
of 30km to ensure that the railway received
sufficient business. “Trading has become
much easier over the years. As a result, the
margins have dropped and one needs to
move much higher volumes today,” says
Joosub.
Joosub was also one of the founding
directors of Shield in 1973, with the buying
group achieving JSE listing in 1987. The
group was then sold to Massmart in 1993
for R61.5 million. After the sale, he was
asked to stay on as non-executive director
and is still associated with them as member
of the buying group.
The delivery system was in place until
1985, when upheavals in the townships no
longer made it safe for the store’s reps to
go into the townships and the store’s trucks
had been attacked frequently. In 1986, the
decision was made to turn the business into
a cash & carry type wholesaler that served
the clients on the premises.
In 1992, the store was, after subsequent
moves and upgrades, moved to its current
6 300m 2 premises on WF Nkomo Street
(previously Church Street) in Pretoria West
and still only serves licensed traders. The
main customers are wholesalers, larger
supermarkets in the area and smaller businesses.
Hawkers and spaza shop owners are
not serviced. Solly Joosub has since taken
a back seat and the business is now run by
his three sons, Mahomed, Adam and Shabir.
They function as the board of directors and
oversee the day-to-day operations.
“Our motto has always been that we
don’t compete with our customers by
selling to their customers. This creates much
wholesalebusiness Issue 5, 2012 21

Wholesale storewatch
loyalty. We are most likely the only genuine
wholesaler left in the country,” says Solly
Joosub.
Up until June this year, J&E operated
under the Powertrade name (part of UMS).
It has since gone back to its roots and
rejoined Shield in a bid to take the business
to the next level.
Successful across the board
Today, J&E trades most successfully in the
health & beauty segment. “We only support
and purchase cosmetics from local suppliers.
We are by far the biggest cosmetics
wholesaler in Pretoria,” comments Adam
Joosub. Also successful are dry groceries, as
well as imported and locally manufactured
hardware. Furthermore, customers find a
selection of homeware, toiletries, electrical
supplies, ethnic hair products and a large
sweets department. The wholesaler is the
biggest distributor of washing powder in the
area too.
Being part of Shield will help the directors to include unique products
and grow the store from where it is today.
The store solely serves licensed traders.
“The key to staying competitive is fairly
simple. Your systems need to be spot on.
Excellent service, correct product range and
pricing and the terms and conditions have
to be adequate for the customers. We are
very focused on branded and trusted products
and on driving loyalty. Loyalty always
has two sides,” says Mahomed Joosub.
The partnership with voluntary buying
group, Shield (part of Masscash, a division of
Massmart) will enable the team to broaden
the store’s offering. “The relaunch enables
us to grow the business from where it is
today. Through the ties to Walmart, we
The directors insist on growing their staff
personally and financially. All staff members
who have been around for a long time have
been able to afford their own cars.
hope to include products that will not be
available anywhere else and create unique
advantages. We are in the process of identifying
opportunities,” says Adam Joosub.
Staying on top
The largest challenge in J&E’s history came
when cash & carries mushroomed across
the country in the seventies. By switching
over to this concept, J&E achieved a price
advantage of 10-15%. Their customers also
had the opportunity to come into the store
and browse through the offering before
buying. “Differentiating ourselves here was
very difficult, but the novelty eventually
wore off. In those days, no telephones or
cars were available in the townships and
poor people did not have transport to get
to the cash & carries. The township market
kept us going because our delivery system
kept them going,” says Mahomed Joosub.
Commitment to great service
At least one member of the directors team
is constantly on the floor and approachable
for customers to efficiently deal with
any query. “We are very hands-on and no
little detail escapes our attention,” says
Shabir Joosub. Orders can also be placed
telephonically, via fax or email. Pickers will
then pull out the products requested and
customers simply have to come in, get
their goods invoiced, pay and be on their
way again in a matter of minutes. A limited
number of customers receive credit within
the store.
22 wholesalebusiness Issue 5, 2012

From left to right: Mahomed Joosub, Solly Joosub, Shabir Joosub and Adam Joosub
emphasise that J&E Wholesalers does not compete with its own customers.
informed weekly and monthly about the
store’s specials via SMS, phone and in-store
marketing. They receive the store’s weekly
and monthly catalogues as well. The specials
can also be checked on the store’s own
website. “We do not place any newspaper
ads because we did not find that to be
effective, as they are most suited to stores
looking to bring in the public. Instead we
market directly to our customers,” says
Mahomed Joosub.
The majority of customers come from
the Pretoria region but some travel as far as
from Mpumalanga, North West or KwaZulu-
Natal to restock their stores.
Motivated staff
The store runs off just 60 staff members
and J&E is a 100% BEE company. “We don’t
believe in micro management. To us, our
staff is part of our family and gets treated
as such. We also insist on keeping our staff
growing personally and financially,” says
Adam Joosub.
Between 1945 and 1972, J&E Wholesalers occupied the store on the left in this building on
Prinsloo Street in Pretoria. The land was expropriated in 1972 and the store moved to Du
Toit Street in Pretoria.
Because the store mostly trades in bulk,
significant supplier discounts can be passed
on. “Everybody down the chain, all the way
to the end consumer, can see the benefits
and savings that come with this strategy.
Large quantities sold have caused suppliers
to really take to us. Many of them went
above and beyond their call of duty to
make us more competitive,” says Mahomed
Joosub. The excluded public avoids large
foot traffic so no trader has to stand in long
queues before he can get back to his own
store. Stock counts are kept high constantly
and the team always ensures sufficient
stock for promotions.
The five tills process an average of 6 000
bulk purchases per month, with an average
basket value of roughly R5 000.
“We constantly look for ways to
streamline our business to make ourselves
more competitive and improve the service
we deliver to our customers,” comments
Adam Joosub.
The team also makes a point of listening
to their customers and resolving problems
as they occur. “We ensure that customer
complaints or issues are dealt with on
the spot, whether it’s incorrect stock
pulled out or merely a small gripe. We
immediately rectify the problem and offer
customers something extra to make up for
aggravations caused. In the weekly meeting,
we then discuss how to ensure that those
mistakes are not repeated,” says Shabir
Joosub.
Direct marketing
Promotions, mostly organised in conjunction
with suppliers, offer significant discounts or
free product samples. Customers are
Most promotions are organised in conjunction
with suppliers.
He emphasises that all staff members
that have been around for a long time
have been able to afford their own cars.
The concept pays off with a staff turnover
of way below 5% per year. A courtesy bus
is also available for staff members for their
travels to work. At weekly meetings, the
opportunity is given to them to voice their
concerns and complaints.
The working hours are comfortable
compared to the industry norm. Staff
members are expected to work every day
from 8am to 5pm and have every weekend,
public and religious holiday off. “This is
another way of keeping staff happy and
wholesalebusiness Issue 5, 2012 23

Wholesale storewatch
Health & beauty is J&E’s most successful
trading category.
loyal. They need enough time to spend with
their families,” says Mahomed Joosub.
setting up small spaza shops in order to
become self-sustaining. Recently, the
team adopted a school in Shoshanguve by
setting up container classrooms. It has now
developed into a fully functional school.
They are also involved internationally by
working with Gift of the Givers and recently
donated six containers of food and cooking
oil to Somalia, as well as 60 000 litres of
bottled water to Yemen.
Growing beyond
“Currently, J&E is known for health and
beauty products. Shield is very strong on the
foods side and the partnership will enable
us to grow stronger in this segment as well,”
says Mahomed Joosub.
Unilever SA recently introduced the
concept of key distributors to supply smaller
businesses who do not yet hold accounts
with the company. J&E was awarded the
sole distribution rights for the Tshwane
region and operates this as part of its newly
founded sister company, trading group, Mass
Distributors. This is a new addition to the
business and will be a significant driver of
growth going forward.
The Mass Distributors operation works
through its 3 000m 2 distribution centre (DC)
in Hermanstad in Gauteng, which currently
supplies just under 1 000 outlets. “Over the
next 18 months, we are looking to grow our
DC to enable the supply of roughly 4 000
outlets. There is lots of room for growth
and this a major focus of our business,” says
Adam Joosub.
The partnership with Shield, as well as the
the DC setup will bring major opportunities
for growth in the future and enable a
century of wholesale legacy to live on.
A secure trading environment
The team is proud to say that the store has
minimal security problems. Shrinkage is at
a very low 0.07%, mainly thanks to the fact
that the store is not open to the public as
well as incentivised staff. Every customer
has to register at the entrance or identify
himself with his existing account. A bonus
system was introduced that rewards staff
members according to current shrinkage,
attendance records and the cleanliness of
aisles.
Stock is protected by regular stock count
schedules and the store has never had
a single criminal incident. Armed guards
secure the entrances and every purchase
is checked against the till slip. “Between
the three brothers, we do all the buying
ourselves, which helps to quickly identify
problems as they occur. Not trading with
the public also gives maximum control,”
says Mahomed Joosub.
Involved in the community
The team also emphasises giving back
to the community. Solly Joosub and his
sons are all members of the SA Memon
foundation, of which Adam is the chairman
and Mahomed acts as the treasurer. The
foundation assists needy, ill and elderly
members of the community by distributing
food hampers and providing warmth during
winter. It also assists men and women in
The five tills process roughly 6 000 bulk transactions per month.
J&E is the biggest distributor of washing powder in the Pretoria area.
24 wholesalebusiness Issue 5, 2012