In this Business Talk with Michael Avery interview, Retailability CEO Norman Drieselmann unpacks Edgars’ ‘right-sizing’ strategy and the future of retail in South Africa.
Retailability is a South African-based group that owns major local retail brands like Edgars and Keedo.
Drieselmann is an experienced senior executive with a demonstrated history of working in blue-chip listed entities and private equity firms.
He is skilled in retail, finance, mergers and acquisitions, and stakeholder relationships.
After completing his Honours in Accounting and Business Management at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 1999, he did his articles at PwC. Drieselmann is a licenced Chartered Accountant.
In 2002, Drieselmann joined Mr Price Group as a Financial Manager and then became a Planning Manager.
He later joined Edcon, the previous owner of Edgars and one of South Africa’s largest and oldest retailers until its collapse, as the Group Planning Executive.
Drieselmann then became the Financial Director of Makro and later took on the role of CFO at Massmart’s Massdiscounters division, which operated Game and Dionwired in South Africa.
He then took the position of CEO at Retailability in 2015 and has now been at the helm for over a decade.
The interview
In this interview, Drieselmann begins by unpacking Edgars’ right-sizing strategy that has seen the retailer reduce its footprint by over 20%.
He explains why “bigger is no longer better” and what that means for landlords, investors, and shareholders when it comes to Edgars.
This reduction in its footprint has provided Edgars with massive savings, and Drieselmann explains what message this sends to property groups about retail downsizing.
Drieselmann then turns to Canal Walk as a case study – where Retailability reduced the size of its Edgars store by 50% – highlighting the positive impact it has had for the retailer.
Shifting gears, Drieselmann talks about the future of beauty and skincare in the retail sector.
Finally, Drieselmann explains what changes customers and suppliers can expect from Edgars with regards to stability, expansion, and transformation.
Watch the full interview with Norman Drieselmann below.
