ROB ROSE: The war for Stuttafords
As the clock runs down on a retail icon battling for survival, a boardroom battle has broken out between two of SA’s elite families
As the battle to save Stuttafords becomes increasingly urgent, it seems the future of the 159-year-old retail chain may hinge on the outcome of a standoff between two of SA’s wealthiest families. In one corner sit the Ellerines — the family that made its name thanks to brothers Eric and Sidney, who started a furniture company in 1950 which was initially wildly successful, but which crashed in 2014. Opposite them are the Rubensteins — headed by 83-year-old lawyer Gerald, a former furniture magnate and ex-chairman of Profurn, which hit something of a wall itself in 2002. For years, the two families co-existed as shareholders of Stuttafords. It all changed last October when Stuttafords, once an indomitable presence but now seemingly out of ideas as well as cash, lurched into “business rescue”, owing creditors R836m.Tensions bubbled over this week at the Killarney Country Club, as creditors met to vote on a rescue plan, backed by the Rubensteins, whereby CEO Robert Amoils would put in R...
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