Pick n Pay ‘destroyed me’ — retailer’s original black franchisee describes eight years of ‘torture’

He was Pick n Pay’s prized first black franchisee, who introduced the retailer to a sceptical township market in the 1990s, helped to train other emerging franchisees and, at one time, processed millions of rands monthly through the tills of his vibrant store in Soshanguve.

He brushed shoulders with presidents, was deeply invested in his community and became an icon of black retail success. Then, when construction delays at the nearby railway station started throttling business, he reached out to the retailer for relief.

Had it moved quicker to buy the store, he alleges, and not dragged out the process for a year, which caused him to rack up further debt, life would be very different today. Now, with nothing left to lose, George Senosha is calling on township customers to boycott Pick n Pay’s Boxer stores because of the way it has treated black franchisees.

He says Boxer’s success is all owing to the labour of black-owned franchisees like him in townships. Acquired in 2002 by PnP, Boxer is one of the flagging retailer’s prized assets, boasting 295 superstores, 150 liquor stores and 31 Build stores across South Africa and Eswatini. A listing on the JSE is imminent.

For it's part, Pick n Pay says it has built a successful franchise estate, giving opportunities for numerous entrepreneurs to thrive. “We are deeply invested in the success of all our franchisees, understanding that the retail landscape poses challenges where not every venture will achieve the desired outcome. Not all will be successful, and we are always saddened when a business does not succeed."

Senosha, a former hotelier, left the industry in 1997 to pursue a career in retail, joining the then Warmbaths (Bela-Bela) Pick n Pay in 1997 as its floor manager.

Two years later, he made his first bid for a PnP franchise, which failed. In 2002, with the help of his bosses at a branch near Menlyn, he became PnP’s first black franchisee with a store in Waterglen, Pretoria. As word got out that the store had a black owner, Senosha realised customers were using two taxis to get to his store, so he put together a proposal to open a PnP in Soshanguve.

Township residents were suspicious at first: they viewed PnP as an expensive store from the suburbs. Senosha sought to dispel this by educating the public about how retail pricing is determined. In September 2005, his second store opened next to the Mabopane train station in Soshanguve.

It soon turned into a training centre for other black franchisees, which helped to forge relationships with various government departments, including the Presidency and Small Business Development.

He opened a third store in Mabopane and was recognised by the group as an outstanding franchisee, receiving the Raymond Ackerman Chairman’s Award. Other accolades followed, including the City of Tshwane’s Best Community Builder of 2018.

Clockwise from left: Luke Louw, then Pick n Pay general manager for the northern region, George Senosha and company founder Raymond Ackerman. (Photo: Supplied)

Trading difficulties