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Gareth Ackerman: Consumers want more value

Cape Town - Consumers everywhere are under strain and are searching for new and better ways to achieve value, Gareth Ackerman, co-chair of the Consumer Goods Council of SA and chair of Pick n Pay, said at its annual summit on Friday.

The success of discount retailers in Europe, and the growth in online channels are just two responses to this trend.

He pointed out that there is growing concern about the health of the global and domestic economies, pressure on businesses to overcome considerable obstacles to trade, an increasingly discerning and demanding consumer and intensified competition for market share.

Consumers are also increasingly expecting businesses with whom they do business to demonstrate shared value. This can take various forms, including leadership on urban renewal, business mentorship, supply chain development, delivering products and services that align with their increasingly demanding sustainable development and ethical values, or supporting local community partnerships.

"Companies which fail to demonstrate shared value can rapidly lose the trust of their customers, with catastrophic results," said Ackerman.  

"Our CGF commitment is to show strong leadership on food security by specifically preventing and reducing food waste, and maximise its recovery as we move towards our goal of halving food waste within our own retail and manufacturing operations by 2025.

"These initiatives are particularly important when you consider that in a world of rising population, increasing cost of food, concerns about inequality and growing food insecurity, food waste is one of the greatest challenges of our time with 30% (1.3 billion tonnes) of food produced being wasted each year."

He said that is why Pick n Pay, for instance, supports FoodBank SA, which collects edible surplus food from manufacturers and retailers and distributes it to non-profit organisations.

"By giving FoodBank SA surplus food, which is still perfectly safe to eat, the company is already contributing 40 000 meals per week for people in dire need – and is saving almost 1 000 tonnes of food waste per year," he explained.

He is still hopeful about the consumer goods sector.
 
"We have no choice but to adapt to the times, innovate and continue to provide value to our customers, while continuing to grow our business for the benefit of our shareholders, our staff, the economy and the communities in which we trade," said Ackerman.

"The future of our businesses will to a large extent be determined by the speed at which we innovate, adopt and adapt to the digital and technological age. This has been far from being a simple evolution. It is proving to be a disruptive influence - in a positive way - in the consumer goods sector, as it has been in most others."

The potential presented by technological change is immense in his view, provided that the industry embraces the digital age and disruption to grow businesses and provide both benefit and value to our customers.

"Consumer-centricism is now key to success, more than ever before. And although consumers and their needs are changing in the most rapid sense, it means more than ever that championing the consumer’s cause should be front and centre of whatever we do," said Ackerman.

"The onus is on us to demonstrate how we are vocal and honest champions for the consumer, to embrace important global imperatives such as food security, climate change, environmental protection and sustainable job creation. In that way we will help to build sustainable economies to both serve and absorb the many educated and talented young people searching for a better life."

But for that to happen, especially here in South Africa, he said the widening of antagonism and lack of trust need to be narrowed between the business, labour and government sectors.

"This is impacting on our ability to negotiate strategies to address unemployment and poverty. The Consumer Goods Council of SA is working on this," he said.

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