Fin24 users provide their view of what went wrong with Ellerine, the loss-making furniture selling business of African Bank.
Apart from African Bank having been placed under curatorship by the SA Reserve Bank, Ellerine has applied for business rescue.
Under South African law, business rescue provides temporary protection of a company's property from creditors.
African Bank has seen its bad loans spiral as its low-income client base struggles in the face of economic hardships.
Could the Ellerine crisis have been prevented? This Fin24 user thinks so.
Fin24 user Kentridge writes: I am not a customer of African Bank or Ellerine. I think the furniture shop shot itself on the foot due to lack of creative branding and marketing.
Their furniture still resembles the 1980s. My late grandparents shopped at Ellerine.
Their target market is no longer in existence. They need to redefine their target market and convince young people to buy their products.
We are living in an era of contemporary art, which influences furniture design. Moreover, houses are getting smaller and a five piece lounge suite does not fit in a modern apartment.
Hence the likes of Coricraft and Rochester are maximising that market gap left by the likes of Ellerine.
Abil is to be blamed for this mess. You cannot keep on subsidising a failing brand. What they needed to do was re-branding.
Fin24 user Dominique writes:
Ellerines needs to rebrand and get more modern furniture.
I went in there once as I wanted to purchase a TV. However, I was in arrears by a few on my accounts and had a default.
The lady at Ellerines said it does not matter and they will give me credit.
I got R30 000 credit, but I cancelled and decided not to purchase anything.
I feel the shop should close down as it's not making money. Or it should come up with a new marketing campaign as soon as possible.
- Fin24
Do you agree with this user's view or have a view of your own? Let us know.
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views of users published on Fin24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.