One of the legacies bequeathed to us by Mohammed Valli Moosa is that the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has now become a sheltered employment refuge for former New National Party members of Parliament. But then again, part of the ministry’s mandate is to protect species on the verge of extinction. Another of Moosa’s legacies is that we can now do our shopping at Woolworths, and then pack all the goodies into a 7-Eleven plastic bag. Without shame.
Woolworths has long been associated with quality. Think Woolworths, and what comes to mind is a third-generation, hand-me-down item of clothing that might just have come back into fashion by then. We have a set of Woolworths dinner crockery that, despite numerous family dinners and our best Rambo-like washing-up efforts, refuses to concede even one chip. The mushrooming of Woolworths food stores attests not only to its eye for the busy-lifestyle-need-good-food-quick market, but is a gesture to the wannabe middle-class suburbs whose property prices appreciate with the proximity of a ”Woolies”. Even the trolley-pushing citizens of the streets of Cape Town seem to respect Woolworths quality.
I’m convinced that when the homeless folk of the city gather in Woodstock for their weekly open-air auditions for parts in Suip 2, it’s the Woolworths trolleys that are parked in the shade.
Now Woolies — bless its Proudly South African heart (and its marketing mind) — is venturing into the realm of local, good quality design and art. Already a major sponsor of Design Indaba, the leading design event on the continent, its winter campaign was launched with huge portraits in its stores of fashionistas such as Josie Borain and Dion Chang and musos such as Thandiswa Mazwai and Muse, the hot string quartet, warmed in Woolies wear.
Here’s hoping that more hip design will find its way towards the men’s fashion section, so that one doesn’t peer into the mirror of the Woolies change room and see a nerd, a second-hand car salesman or a member of a bowling club.
Later this year Woolworths is set to roll out the works of young, cutting-edge artists in its leading stores around the country. Customers will be able to buy a Gabi Ngcobo original print along with butternut soup, a designer lamp shade and thermal underwear. (Customers should be prepared to pay for a Woolies bag or two, as these items are unlikely to all fit into a 7-Eleven bag.)
A few weeks ago the Woolworths summer collection was launched in Cape Town, and the Trinity Session, probably the country’s leading art collective, was invited to curate the event. The works of artists such as Bongi Bhengu, Doreen Southwood and Kathryn Smith were integrated seamlessly into fashion displays heralding the coming colours of summer. The event served as a precursor to art moving from the ghetto of the gallery, to interface with the mob of the mall.
This can only be good for art and for artists. They will bask in the brands of quality and innovation associated with Woolworths. They will reach a much wider market, one that has the means to purchase their work. The commissions payable will be less than at a gallery, so there will be more money in the pockets of artists. Galleries will benefit as customers in search of more work by the artists displayed in the retail outlets, will be referred to them. And the artist as a brand in her or his own right will grow as faces on the store’s posters are linked to names, names to the displayed works, and the works to the dining room walls of customers.
WW may stand for Woolworths. But it may as well stand for win-win. For artists, for customers and of course, for Woolies.