'I was still on Tedelex's board and the company stayed in my blood. Parting was not as easy as I thought it would be'

THE late Bennie Slome, a prolific investor who founded consumer electronics group Tedelex, was said to offer almost everyone he ever met a job. True to form, he called in a young equities trader he had just met on a visit to London for a "chat" in 1961.

The dealer, Jack Cohen, accepted a job as Tedelex's credit manager only because he thought it would allow him to earn some money while he looked for something better.

He never expected to last longer than six months, but stayed for over 35 years and became its managing director, retiring at the end of 1995. In January 1997, Cohen returned to Tedelex, this time as its owner.

After news broke that Malbak, Tedelex's parent company, was to unbundle, Cohen received calls from Tedelex's management, asking him to come back. "Some even promised to die for me and the company," he jests.

At the time, Cohen's focus was on his son Sheldon's publishing and media business SMC Capital. "But I was still on Tedelex's board and Tedelex remained in my blood. Parting was not as easy as I thought it would be."

To finance his R50-million bid for Tedelex, Cohen approached an old friend, Fedsure's chief executive Arnold Basserabie. The life assurer's board liked his plans to "re-engineer" Tedelex and decided to bankroll him.

There were at least four serious contenders, including audio appliance group Omega Holdings, which meant many sleepless nights for Cohen, especially after a Malbak executive described his offer as "cheeky".

It is unknown whether any of the bids were higher than his, but what surely counted in his favour was the backing of Tedelex's management.

Fedsure made its payment to Malbak this week, on April Fool's Day, but does not any expect any red faces. It will get its first pay-back from Cohen after Tedelex lists its subsidiary Amalgamated Appliance Holdings in May - a move set to raise about R41-million after costs.

Back at Tedelex in January, Cohen immediately swung into action, implementing all the plans placed on ice while Tedelex waited for a new owner. These included trimming its branch structure to cut overheads and about 300 retrenchments.

Results are starting to show. Tedelex has reduced its debt from R185-million a year ago to just over R50-million now. After several years of losses - close to R40-million in the year to August - it is expected to break even in the current financial year.

Tedelex took most of its "re-engineering punishment" in the six months to February 1997 with write-downs of over R20-million and Cohen now looks ahead with optimism.

The company - which has sales of almost R500-million a year - is set to launch a host of new products. The first of these, the "Private Eye", a TV set with a built-in surveillance system, is already being advertised along with a new slogan: "Trust Tedelex".

There are also clear signs that the grey market is being regulated and Tedelex is involved in a number of negotiations about which Cohen is tight-lipped.

He plans to list Tedelex, delisted by Malbak in the early 1990s, within the next three years.

In addition to staying married to Betty, for 41 years, he cites "lasting in the consumer electronics industry for 35 years and then having the courage to come back" as his key achievements in life.

These are a far cry from what he expected while growing up in Witbank, where he was Witbank Hoërskool's first and only Jewish head boy. His plan then was to become a lawyer and he even spent a year doing articles.

However, three of his uncles - all lawyers - persuaded him against the profession, prompting his move to the JSE where he spent nine years as a dealer.

Cohen expects to be at Tedelex for at least five more years. In the meantime, he keeps fit playing tennis and by running on a treadmill. He relaxes by reading.

Zilla Efrat

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