Listed South African retailer Woolworths celebrates 75 years of trading in the South African retail market on Tuesday, the company said in a statement.
“This is a major milestone for us,” said Simon Susman, CEO of Woolworths. “We’ve come a long way since Max Sonnenberg opened the first Woolworths store in Cape Town 75 years ago on October 31 in Plein Street, Cape Town, but many of the values that Mr Sonnenberg espoused then remain true to Woolworths today.”
To celebrate its birthday, Woolworths is donating 75 water tanks to needy schools identified through the EduPlant programme. This is in addition to the R170-million of surplus food and clothing Woolworths donates to needy communities each year and the more than R1-million per month it distributes through its MySchool programme.
“These water tanks will provide much-needed water storage for these underprivileged schools, enabling them easy access to water to feed their nutritional gardens. This is a critical component of our efforts to help these learners provide food for themselves and their communities and, where there is excess produce, it also provides a stream of income for the school,” commented Susman.
Woolworths also announced the launch of the Woolworths Chuckles Fund. “We also wanted to do something that would remind us and our customers of the world around us every day,” explained Susman.
“Our biggest treat line is [chocolate snack] Chuckles — every store stocks them and our customers love them . . . so for every packet of Chuckles sold in this, our 75th year, we will give an additional 75c to the Chuckles Fund, which will support orphaned and vulnerable children.” — I-Net Bridge