Massmart, a firm that owns local brands such as Game and Makro, says they will retain employees while reinstating stores.
Job security has been a hot topic since the violent looting ravaged some parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The company’s senior vice-president, Brian Leroni, said 43 of the KwaZulu-Natal facilities were directly impacted.
“This included our Riverhorse distribution centre. However, our central distribution centre network has built-in redundancy for scenarios that disrupt supply – and we have activated the related back-up plans. We are confident we have sufficient capacity in our current distribution centre network to fill any gaps in supply. Fortuitously, we are also in the final stages of the building of a new state-of-the-art distribution centre in KwaZulu-Natal. It is scheduled to open in Q4 of this year.”
Leroni said the immediate priority throughout this period has been firstly to ensure the safety of their staff and secondly, to further secure their physical assets. The attention, he said, has now shifted to implementing plans to ensure the responsible and safe reopening of affected stores.
“Our commitment to the KwaZulu-Natal market and to invest in the sustainable growth of our business is unchanged.
“And to that end, we are committed to restoring damaged infrastructure and also protecting the jobs of our employees. Importantly, we have also turned our attention to helping local communities rebuild and restore some of what has been lost. We remain resolute and determined in serving our customers and contributing to a better South Africa,” said Leroni.
IOL