Pick n Pay Stores (PIK) Chairman Raymond Ackerman announced Wednesday that he would be retiring the chairmanship of the company effective 1 March 2010, after a career at the company spanning 43 years.

He will stay on as an advisor to the company performing an ambassadorial role and will continue to be based at the company's head office in Cape Town.

Pick n Pay Holdings (Pikwik) chairman Gareth Ackerman (52) has been confirmed by the board as the new non-executive chairman of Pick n Pay Stores. The position has been changed to a non-executive one in line with corporate governance recommendations.

"In March next year, I will be in my 80th year. The company under CEO Nick Badminton has done some incredible forward planning and the strategic direction taken by the company has resulted in a five year plan that is both remarkable and very confident," said Ackerman Snr.

These plans include the rollout of SAP, the move to centralised distribution, the franchise conversions producing new black ownership, the rollout of its new brand and its focus on sustainability.

Company is in a very strong position

"Looking ahead, the company is in a very strong position and is extremely well placed for the future. All the foundations have been laid and I believe this is an appropriate time for me to hand over the chairmanship of the company, despite this year being really tough," he said.

"Gareth has spent most of his life with Pick n Pay. He has had numerous positions at the company ranging from buying to store management and running our butchery division, to becoming joint MD, the first MD of Group Enterprises and deputy chairman.

He is currently chairman of Pikwik, our holding company, and has done a quiet, but formidable job at the helm of Pikwik and in running the Ackerman Family's office and investment funds. He has been an astute and focused director of Pick n Pay for some 19 years, serving on our Remuneration, Audit (when permitted under corporate governance rules) and Corporate Governance and Nominations Committees, which he chairs," he added.

"We are unashamedly a family controlled but professionally managed company with a very strong focus on corporate governance. I believe this has been a core strength of the company and has always allowed us - to the benefit of all Pick n Pay Stores and Holdings shareholders - to take a long term view of the company instead of focusing on immediate- or- short-term returns," he added.

Changed the face of retail

"Being family controlled has also ensured that the values introduced in 1967 have carried through over 42 years. Importantly, this will not change."

Stores Chairman-designate Gareth Ackerman said that after a lifetime of preparation, he was looking greatly forward to taking the reins of the company as non-executive chairman.

"My father changed the face of retail in South Africa and that is the legacy that will always be present at Pick n Pay. The challenge ahead of me is overseeing the operations of a company by working with and through the excellent management team headed by CEO Nick Badminton. The Group is competing in a constantly changing market with a widening array of needs and demands.

"It's a challenge that I'm embracing with a healthy combination of confidence and humility. A very capable executive team is in place and they have proved that they are more than up to the task of delivering solid performances into the future."