STEINHOFF
Whitey stands by Christo Wiese
The consumer goods guru vouches for the honesty of his friend and fellow Shoprite shareholder
Former Shoprite Holdings CEO Whitey Basson says he vouches for the honesty of his friend and fellow Shoprite shareholder of many years, former Steinhoff chairman Christo Wiese, and will assist the collapsed furniture, apparel and home products retailer if he can. But the 72-year-old fast-moving consumer goods guru says he cannot comment on the fortunes of the critically injured Steinhoff until the group gets its financial affairs in order, only stating that he has never been a big investor in the company. "I don’t know if they have been dishonest or not," he said on Monday. After 37 years as boss of Shoprite, Basson left the grocery group in late 2017. But like his entrepreneurial peer, Bidvest founder Brian Joffe, he has come galloping back from retirement in short order, now taking up the role of a nonexecutive board member of dairy group Clover. "I’ve done nothing from September to December — just tried to sort out my life of 40 years," he said. "Hopefully, I’ve got another 40 ye...
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