Financial Mail looks at the unnecessary death of SA’s last department store
Grand old Stuttafords, once the Harrods of SA, will be shutting up shop on August 1, representing perhaps SA’s largest corporate failure in recent years. The tragedy is that its demise could have been avoided had it not been for the apparent bad blood between the two main shareholders, the Ellerines and the Rubensteins. Stuttafords, the 159-year-old department store synonymous with SA’s retail glory years, will shut its doors permanently on August 1. This makes it the largest casualty of the slow demise of the country’s consumer spending. "Stuttafords was the epitome of Johannesburg fashion and culture," says Gerald Garner, who runs tour company Joburg Places. "It was like Harrods is to London — something of an iconic store. People would come by bus or train to Park Station, walk down Eloff Street, which was the glitziest retail street in the country, if not the continent. (They) would typically go to Stuttafords to shop and have tea, many of the ladies in white gloves." The departm...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.