The Herholdt Group history as remembered by Piet Herholdt Snr...

In South African terms, the Herholdt Group is a truly venerable institution. It was established way back in 1930 which makes it all of 80 years old this year. And there are not many retailers around today which can trace their pedigree back quite so far.

If its origins seem unlikely, with hindsight its subsequent success seems inevitable.

It all started with one man – it usually does – with a hair dressing salon. (We mentioned it was an unlikely origin), but this man had vision. His name was Faan Herholdt who at the age of just 21 had set up a business in Middelburg which he called the French Hairdressing Salon. Yes, and Faan used to cut hair. In those far off days, men paid a weekly visit to their local barber, and business for Faan was brisk.

His son Piet Snr. takes up the story. “His customers were regulars and seeing an opportunity to diversify, Faan started selling watches, radios and ‘wind chargers’ at the salon. In a small community such as Middelburg, trust is everything and Faan was trusted and business took off. His sales grew to such an extent that he decided to add furniture to his merchandise mix. The importance to Faan of cutting hair diminished and he decided to close down the French Hairdressing Salon and concentrate entirely on retailing. The Salon’s premises were far too small for his needs so he rented premises in Meintjies Street in Middelburg.”

Piet continued: “For the next 11 years business grew and grew and by 1941 Faan Herholdt was in a position to erect his very own building to house his expanding business in Mark Street, Middelburg. But only a few years later”, said Piet, “he was in the happy position of being able to purchase the neighbouring property as well. And of course, he developed that too” By 1957, some 27 years after Faan started his business life as a hair dresser, his business had expanded so much that he was able to erect yet another building.

“This time,” said Piet, “he built a double storey building which he linked up to his existing premises. And by then he had nine employees. But I must mention that by then I had already joined my father. I did that the previous year, in 1956, directly after I had finished school. Now when I joined, we knew Herholdt had reached a growth ceiling in Middelburg, we had grown so much, but to grow further, we needed new business, so I started making weekly sales visits to Colesberg, Steynsburg, Richmond and Hanover.”

Sadly, for the business and the family, in 1961 Faan Herholdt developed cancer and died. He was only 52. Piet took over. “I had learned so much from my father in the few years I had worked full time for him,” he said. “I felt really privileged, his guidance and expertise had been invaluable to a young man like myself.”

With further growth came further appointments. In 1962 Willem Kruger was recruited from Volkskas Bank and appointed manager of the new Colesberg branch. Herholdt moved into Cradock and Burgersdorp and in 1969 Katryn van Heerden was appointed manager of the company’s first Indecor store. Further expansion followed rapidly, firstly in Humansdorp under Cliffie Hayward and almost simultaneously De Aar was successfully opened under the managership of Arthur Moolman.

Unfortunately, according to Piet, these were not successful and he closed them down after giving  them a good run. In 1976 Herholdt purchased Binnekeur in Beaufort West from  PJ du Toit where it operated very successfully. However, in 1992 the company decided to move the store to Graaff Reinet under the managership of Stephan de Klerk. “He still manages that store today,” confirmed Piet.

With his business acumen strongly developed by this stage, Piet Herholdt had diversified into a variety of other interests. “We also owned at that time Midkaap Ing Werke, Die Hotel Middelburger, KA Laboratoria which manufactured a range of men’s toiletries under the Playboy brand, Lulana Handweavers,Phoenix Hats, Oukor Beleggings, CB Wasters Pty Ltd., and Haystead & Ford Wholesalers. The last three are still very much a part of the Group,” explained Piet.

The third Herholdt generation was welcomed to the business when Piet’s older son, Piet Jnr joined in 1984. “We moved him through the ranks  to learn as much as possible. It was important for the business and for Piet that he was exposed to a wide variety of experiences, such as selling and operations etc. I then appointed him to manage in Colesberg and Beaufort West and later he took over Middelburg. That was back in 1988.”

A properly run head office was now deemed essential and this was set up in premises in Middelburg. Alwyn Vorster was appointed general manager with a staff complement of six. Today, the office is run by the Herholdt Group’s accountant Elise Gelderblom assisted by her own small team.

In 1987 the company’s Beaufort West branch manager Pierre Botha resigned to join Shoprite Checkers. “However, we were able to get him back just a few months later by offering him a managerial post at our wholesalers Haystead & Ford,” said a delighted Piet. “Today Haystead & Ford which supplies every kind of grocery and hardware is a major contributor to the Group’s profitability. Even more so since we added meat, vegetables and liquor. We employ a further 48 people there”, he revealed.

In 1994, Piet’s second son Stephan joined the Group. “He had studied at Stellenbosch and the Cape Technikon and his first job was to open a Top Carpets branch in Port Elizabeth. However, six years later, we had to admit that we were platteland operators and were not comfortable in big cities and closed it down. Our spirit is in the platteland,” explained Piet, “not in cities.”

In 1997, a small Top Carpets business was purchased in Hermanus. “However, we soon realised the parking there was terrible and there was simply not enough space, we could never build up the business as we wanted,” said Piet. They moved to the Gateway Centre next to the highway to Cape Town. “That was a major improvement,” admitted Piet, “and we were able to add a range of beds and bedding to the mix.”

But the business outgrew even those premises and in 2003 the company purchased a new building boasting some 500 square metres and moved over, lock, stock and barrel. Stephan Herholdt added floor tiles, electrical appliances and furniture to his mix and under his guidance, the branch has continued to prosper and grow.

Meanwhile back in Middelburg where it all started, the Group was getting more involved with property. Piet elaborated: “We developed existing buildings and purchased new ones. And we rented out to blue chip tenants such as Foschini, FurnCity and Pep Stores. Also the old Sanlam building is now housing a Top Carpets outlet, and we have also bought into an Old Mutual development with blocks of residential flats.”

In 1990, The Group decided to upgrade their Colesberg and Middelburg branch buildings, and in 2000 acquired the Checkers building in Graaff Reinet and altered its façade to match the image of Herholdt’s other branches. In that same year Herholdt joined Top Carpets, a multinational buying group, and obtained the sole MTN agency for the platteland.

In 1998 Piet Snr who had guided and built up the company’s fortunes ever since his father Faan passed away, retired, and the mantle passed to his eldest son Piet Jnr. “And of course my younger son Stephan is also a major shareholder in the business. So between them they are now responsible for taking the Herholdt Group to a new level, to a higher level,” declared Piet.

So today, 80 years after Faan Herholdt established his French Hair Dressing Salon, we have no doubt he would be thrilled if he could see what his family have achieved on the foundations he laid all those years ago. And the future is secure – recently the fourth generation, Piet’s son Pieter, also joined the family business, and with his young energy and input, we have no doubt that the Herholdt Group is set to grow much, much bigger.