The Top Empowerment Companies (TEC) winner in the manufacturing sector, Steinhoff International, does not have an empowerment equity deal under its belt.
But Steinhoff CE Marcus Jooste says his group supports the black economic empowerment (BEE) transactions recently entered into by Unitrans, in which Steinhoff has a stake.
Unitrans sold a 13% stake in the group to an empowerment consortium made up of Tokyo Sexwale's investment vehicle, Mvelaphanda Capital, Arch Equity and an employee trust for about R290,5m.
Steinhoff's holding in Unitrans recently increased from 22,4% to about 60%. This followed Steinhoff's acquisition of 34m shares in Unitrans from construction group Murray & Roberts (M&R) for about R950m.
M&R held a 44% stake in Unitrans and had been looking to rid itself of the stake.
In its latest annual report, Steinhoff says it is open to new partnerships that will increase shareholder value and develop skills and increase resources in the communities.
Steinhoff is one of the top five furniture groups in Europe, and the largest in Africa. It manufactures, warehouses and distributes household goods.
It employs 40 000 people worldwide and its aim is to become a low-cost producer and an employer of choice, employing "highly motivated individuals".
It is listed on the household goods & textiles sector of the JSE Securities Exchange, a sector that has had no big empowerment deals.
Steinhoff, with a BEE ownership of 4%, has the highest BEE ownership in the sector. Companies listed in this sector include Seardel, Unigro, Nu-World and Ventel.
Most of them have experienced mixed fortunes since the rand strengthened and the SA Reserve Bank cut interest rates.
Their local operations have done well because South Africans have bought lots of household goods with their increased disposable incomes.
But the strengthening of the local currency against a basket of currencies has affected those companies with an export bias.
Some of the companies in this sector claim to have a BEE programme in place, but will not give details.
Of the companies approached as part of the TEC survey, only Steinhoff and Nu-World were willing to respond.
Steinhoff achieved high scores for its employment equity and enterprise development initiatives, which seem to be the areas where the group is focusing its attention.
Steinhoff human resources director Johan Geldenhuys says the group aims to create a culture that is inclusive and recognises workers' skills.
"We see BEE as a competitive advantage. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for our employees in line with the demographics of the regions in which we conduct business," says Geldenhuys.
He says progress has been made towards the attainment of employment equity. But he admits that further work is required to extend diversity within the organisation.
"The diversity of cultures existing in the company is recognised as an asset," says Jooste in the Steinhoff's annual report.
"Within this context, merit and competence are two important criteria for advancement in the company."
Jooste says Steinhoff is committed to redressing historical imbalances, so employees can compete on equal terms.
"Human resources management is therefore an integral part of our corporate strategy. Our objective is to attract and retain the best people and keep them productive.
"Much progress has been made towards improving employment equity. But further work is required to extend diversity within the organisation at all levels," says Jooste.
Steinhoff Africa has appointed a senior black transformation executive to assist with the acceleration of transformation and broad-based empowerment initiatives.
There has been little activity around developing a sector charter.
The industry is considered too small for an industry charter. And Steinhoff is not concerned about the ripple effects of empowerment because most of its business is foreign. Much of Steinhoff's more than R5bn in revenues comes from foreign markets.
However, as with all companies in SA, companies in this sector will have to comply with the department of trade & industry's (DTI) requirements if they want to do any business with government.
Steinhoff subsidiary Unitrans will also be subject to a charter in the transport sector. The new codes of good practice released by the DTI are clear on how empowerment shareholding will be measured.
Unitrans' empowerment shareholding will be affected by Steinhoff's empowerment credentials because of the codes' flow-through principle, which calls for only direct black equity to be counted when calculating the empowerment equity of a company. Mvelaphanda is a shareholder in Unitrans, but only its direct shareholding is calculated.
The group says it supports the economic transformation of the country.
It has been active in developing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the manufacturing sector, backing more than 100 S MEs through the furniture industry sector education & training authority.
"The communities in which we operate are important stakeholders and we have introduced various programmes to ensure the upliftment of these communities.
"Progress in this area is monitored at Steinhoff and Steinhoff International board levels
"We are also honorary members of the Tikkun Foundation, an organisation whose aim is to uplift historically disadvantaged groups in SA," says Geldenhuys.
