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UNIT TRUSTS:RMB Balanced Fun... A spurt of growth upon retiremen... Has Wall Street succumbed to "mad bull" ... Betting on a bottle of the best bubbl... Taking on the role of trustee ... |
SELF-BELIEF . . . Michael Charne of Mathomo--> The virtues of vision, foresight and gut feel
GO WITH your gut feel rather than diluting your entrepreneurial qualities with an analytical attitude. And combine this with vision and foresight. These beliefs have driven Michael Charne, a regional finalist in our Entrepreneur of the Year competition, to the peak of success. Charne founded his retail company, Mathomo, in 1995, and a year later approached the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) to participate in a company to be listed on the JSE. Charne's view was that NUM would fit in as a synergistic participant of his retail group, as it catered for mine employees. With NUM being a major player in Cosatu, Charne says the thought of using a capitalist system to achieve black empowerment seemed far from reality. Charne's perseverance resulted in NUM's investment company, MIC, becoming a major shareholder with Charne Investment and Standard Bank. The group made history in 1996 as the first labour-initiated black-owned company listed on the JSE. On listing, its market capitalisation was R92-million. Just a year later it stands at R265-million. Charne admits that it was a big challenge, but stresses that challenges are what drive him. "In order to cross obstacles which may seem insurmountable, one has to believe in one's own principles, and to focus on the positive instead of the negative." Charne's initial aim for listing his company was to reduce debt and to grow the group. This has been followed through with strategic acquisitions which include the recent purchase of Eldon's Stationery Group and the acquisition of protective clothing company Alsafe Safety Products which supplies the mines. Mathomo is a Sotho word meaning "the beginning of". The group, which employs 600 people, distributes its own brand of sports, leisure and workwear through its chain of 114 stores. All the outlets are strategically situated near mines to offer easy access. The rest of the business sells branded clothing such as Pierre Cardin, She Bear, Champion and Lotto at major retail chain stores. As to an entrepreneur's keys to success, Charne believes in a strategic action plan and realistic objectives and attributes many of his accomplishments to the experience of owning and running his own companies since the age of 20.
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