Consumer retail giant Ackermans has been providing South Africans with high quality clothing at reasonable prices for just over a century.
Started in 1916 by founder Gus Ackerman the clothing retailer has grown from a single store in Wynberg, Cape Town to over four hundred branches throughout South Africa and neighboring countries.
Their growth was not as straightforward as most of their counterparts with many acquisitions and changes in management but the brand has come through strongly.
Gus, the father of Raymond Ackerman who founded Pick & Pay chose to sell the company instead of keeping it for his offspring. Forty six years after the first store the company was sold to Greatermans but then quickly sold to Edgars ten years later.
Edgars managed the clothing retailer for fourteen years expanding their stores to 34 before selling to the Pepkor group. Pepkor to this day still owns Ackermans and are largely responsible for its rapid growth and success. Their specialty has always been in building successful retail brands for the low to mid consumer market and the group has had just as much success in Europe and Australia.