Clicks is planning to spend R876 million in the current financial year. It’s spending this money across its stores and its IT systems. The money will go towards solar installations on its distribution centres, as well as on other matters. Clicks CEO Bertina Engelbrecht, who started in the role in January, joins us to discuss this as well as the group’s half-year numbers released earlier on today. Bertina, thanks very much for your time. First of all, congratulations on your appointment.
I’m very proud, Fifi, of the fact that more than 10 years ago we sat around the table as an executive team and spoke about what kind of future we would want for our children and their children, if you will. We concluded that we saw ourselves as stewards of the future, and that means that we obviously have to start thinking about the things that we do to lighten up this company.
All right. Just putting the focus back on your results released earlier today, you are selling more, but I’d just like to understand from you the picture of your consumer, the state of your consumers based on their buying patterns, how frequently they are coming into your stores and exactly what they’re buying that you can see.
You are saying this, Fifi……6:15 ……I bought eyeliner……how I can buy. You know, it becomes…..metrosexual[?] I think in terms of skincare. In South Africa actually, I think there’s a statistic that says the South African male spends more on …… grooming any other male in any other country. So that’s also a fantastic opportunity for us. I can see that in my own household.
All right, a very interesting development. Bertina, I want to talk to you about Covid – just where you are seeing the overhang in your business and, as the largest administer of vaccinations, having administered some three million vaccinations in your year as of February.
There are expiring dates to the vaccinations, Fifi. That’s something that we manage very, very closely. So what we would do is we would do vaccinations at any particular store and the product that will be brought to that store will be based on that. Making appointments, of course, is another way which you’re able to manage your stock very, very carefully and of course it needs to be refrigerated, which we are really set up for in terms of our pharmacies.