APA-Cape Town (South Africa) One of South Africa’s well-known retail tycoons and founder of the Pick n Pay retail chain, Raymond Ackerman has died at the age of 92, his family confirmed on Thursday.
Ackerman and his wife, Wendy, founded the retail chain in 1967 after buying four shops in Cape Town, a Pick n Pay company statement said.
Ackerman came from a retailing family. His father founded Ackermans after World War I, according to the statement.
“From the outset, he lived by the core values that the customer is queen, that we must treat others as we would wish to be treated — and that doing good is good business,” the statement said.
The Pick n Pay brand has grown to encompass stores across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Nigeria, Eswatini and Lesotho. It also owns a 49 percent share of Zimbabwean supermarket chain, TM Supermarkets.
A committed philanthropist, Ackerman was said to be a man of the people — never too busy or too proud to make time for others, the statement said.
“He remained humble throughout his life, and passionate about building a more just future for South Africa,” it said, adding that “his passing leaves a great void for us all.”
Apart from Wendy, he leaves four children in Gareth, Kathy, Suzanne and Jonathan, his 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
NM/jn/APA