Retail entrepreneur and founder of Pick n Pay, Raymond Ackerman, has died. He was 92-years-old.
Taking to social media, Pick n Pay said they were deeply saddened by the loss of their founder.
“With profound sadness we announce that Pick n Pay founder Raymond Ackerman has passed away,”posted the retailer.
“A visionary entrepreneur, humanitarian and a great South African. Our country has lost a brilliant patriot who always saw a positive future for South Africa.”
The retail magnate, along with his wife, Wendy, founded the prominent supermarket chain in 1967 after buying their first four stores in Cape Town.
Over the span of more than half a century, the empire grew to over 2000 outlets, including stores across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Nigeria, Eswatini and Lesotho.
His father founded Ackermans shortly after the first World War.
The prominent businessman also launched over two dozen unsuccessful battles against the government on price cutting.
In the late eighties, he, along with a group of businessmen called for the release of Nelson Mandela soon after the appointment of FW de Klerk as president.
He later established the Raymond Ackerman Academy for Entrepreneurial Development, in 2004, in partnership with UCT and the University of Johannesburg.
This initiative went on to produce hundreds of new business owners.
Ackerman and his wife retired from the board of Pick n Pay Stores Limited and became honorary life presidents, in 2010.
By the time he handed the chairman’s reins to son Gareth, Pick n Pay was operating 20 hypermarkets and 402 supermarkets across South Africa, while group turnover stood at almost R50-billion.
As an old boy of Bishops Diocesan College, Ackerman was president and later, the patron of the Old Diocesan Union.
Over the course of his career, he also acquired seven honorary doctorates from local and international universities.
In his spare time, Ackerman was an avid golfer who, at one stage, played off a scratch handicap.
He was especially close to the Clovelly Golf Club, which his father founded and which was the first non-racial golf club in South Africa.
He regularly watched all the golf majors and much sport on TV.
He is survived by his wife, Wendy, children Gareth, Kathy, Suzanne, and Jonathan, his 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Written by Murray Swart for Cape Town ETC.
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Feature Image: Facebook / geordinhl
