Opened on March 28, the store is part of a 50-store mall that was recently completed. According to Boxer’s director, Andrew Mills, shoppers were happy with the development as it meant they would not travel far to do their shopping.

“With the opening of this mall, the Elim community will be able to invest financially in the community, as the majority of personnel employed at the mall are from the community,” Mills said.

Mills said Boxer retailer was known for changing communities through various corporate social responsibility projects, which include the rebuilding of churches and creches and donating stationery to schools. “Boxer currently has over 150 stores nationally and are steadily growing, focusing on what matters the most, which is meeting customers’ needs.”

The Elim store Boxer also has a money kiosk which offers services such as buying airtime and paying bills. Mills said shoppers will find an in-store butchery which offers a wide range of fresh and frozen cuts of meat, and during the opening ceremony, shoppers were introduced to Boxer’s exclusive processed meats brand, Butcher’s Buy.

“The brand was established and nurtured by Boxer and has proven to be a winning brand in the market place,” said Mills. Photo: Supplied A Boxer Supermarket is now open in Elim, making grocery shopping easier for locals.

Learners had to tackle a rather tough and controversial essay topic by completing the following sentence, “Thanks to Humans Rights Day, I have the Right to…” to gain entry. But to the delight of Boxer, the level of understanding that shorn through the heaps of essays received was astounding and this ultimately made their decision a difficult one. After having to spend numerous hours reading each and every essay submitted, 43 learners were selected from the over two thousand hopefuls. They were soon thereafter informed that they were the chosen ones to expand; experience, explore and express themselves at the 2013 Boxer Youth Leadership Programme. In existence for 11 years and created with the sole intention of empowering the youth of today to become effective leaders tomorrow, the programme saw another successful year.

The young, intelligent and self motivated 43 students arrived at the Suela Zimbili Adventure centre in Zinkwazi, Kwa-Zulu Natal as strangers. Day one saw the 36 young ladies and 7 young gentlemen settling in and forming friendships. As they participated in different fun but physically demanding team building activities, they learned the importance of trusting each other and allowing others to assist them. After each day of activities students got a chance to express the thoughts and feelings about relevant current affairs topics. And a revelation that despite their different lifestyles, cultures and languages, each of them dealt with the same types of feelings and difficulties was discovered. Strong friendships were created and the 43 young strangers soon became a close knit family.

Neo Motsogi from Benoni in Gauteng said, “I was able to break out of my shell as I was a very shy person who always had a difficult time socialising with others. So this experience has helped me better communicate with others and make friends easily. I also realised that the reason I could not make friends easily was because I lacked self confidence. I am now self confident and believe in myself.”

This challenging programme required mental, physical and emotional investment from every learner and pushed their boundaries to achieve more. The Boxer Youth Leadership Programme helped each student to dig deep within themselves and bring out their inner strength. It challenged them to stand up for what they believed in while being respectful to others. Each student was empowered to reach for the stars and by the end of the five days, each of the 43 were geared up to get back home and to their school with a fresh perspective and new found confidence. At the end of the five days, the 43 students were teary eyed and saddened to say goodbye to each other and the adventure they had been on but also felt excited to pass on what they learned to others.

The cost of the entire initiative was covered by Boxer Superstores and their associated partners; MTN, Nedbank and Ukhozi FM. This was the first year that Ukhozi FM partnered with the South African loved retailer, Boxer, on this initiative. They added value to the advertising process and the students had the opportunity to meet radio personality Dj Sgqemeza which was a highlight and treat for them.  Each of the partners were allocated a specific day during the course of the camp to address the learners through motivational talks, providing them with free business education and on top of that they splurged the learners with goodies to take back home.

Ukhozi FM broadcasted from the camp site and interviewed three of the top achieving learners. This added to the vibe and was deemed the best year yet. Students are already talking about the Boxer Youth Leadership Programme 2014, which from the looks of things, we can conclude will be even better.

“When attending the Boxer Youth Leadership Programme I was actually challenging myself. It was a unique experience and one that I will never forget because it has completely changed my life by giving me self confidence and the ability to approach life in a positive way,” said Shikara Mohamparkas, a student from Isipingo Secondary in KwaZulu-Natal and a Boxer Youth Leadership Programme 2013 participant.

 Recently, a well planned campaign saw that very dream come true for over 100 Boxer shoppers nationwide. Boxer Superstores launched a national campaign called ‘Trolley Dash’ which was aimed at giving their customers a chance to WIN BIG. The mechanics of the competition were very simple. Customers had to do their normal shopping to the value of R50 or more and immediately gained entry into this fantastic competition. They were asked to write their name, ID number and contact telephone number on the back of their till slips and to then place their till slips into the special ‘Trolley Dash’ entry box which will be situated at every Boxer kiosk.

Boxer Superstores across the country were packed with regular and new shoppers, all hoping to be chosen as the ‘Trolley Dash’ winner. The winner in each Boxer store was given a maximum of two minutes to dash through the aisle and grabbed products they needed of the shelves. Prior to the Trolley Dash, Boxer staff walked through the store with the winner which assisted them with navigating through the store during their two minutes. Customers were extremely excited and cheered on the ‘Trolley Dash’ winners. As the winner in each Boxer store prepared themselves, across the country on the same day, to start their race, emotions were overwhelming and expectations were high. The countdown began and each contestant took off with an extra bounce in their step. Moving faster than they knew they could, each contestant ran through the empty Boxer aisle and grabbed their favourite products.

 A look of unbelief seemed to be a common looked shared by most contestants. Many were surprised at the speed at which they moved and others could hardly believe how much of goodies and essentials they gathered through their dash. Many of the men and ladies that were chosen managed to take home trolleys overflowing with groceries and household goods including appliances. Other lucky customers filled two trolleys of goods and took home over two month’s worth of groceries. The Boxer ‘Trolley Dash’ competition was a huge success for Boxer Superstores and their customers. The winners were so grateful to Boxer for such a wonderful opportunity.

“Our customers are the reason we continue to open stores and to generate exciting and innovative competitions while maintaining our low price value proposition. Shoppers’ commitment to the Boxer brand inspires us to keep giving back to them as we have done for 36 years. Seeing the sheer joy and appreciation on our customers’ faces is gratifying enough for us and we know that the generated excitement due to the Trolley Dash competition further emphasises that Boxer listens to the needs of our customers. Boxer really cares” said Andrew Mills, Boxer Director.

The children of Vryheid were beyond excited and could not wait to get started with the competition. Because this competition was around the Easter period Boxer used this perfect opportunity to present the children with some much loved Easter treats, including a chocolate Easter Bunny and Easter eggs. On the day of the colour-in competition the entrants lined up at Boxer and eagerly awaited the “green light” to begin creating their individual pieces of artwork. Each child was handed a copy of the same colour-in sheet which contained an easter bunny and large easter egg and had a wide range of different colour crayons to choose from. The competition was open to all interested children and entrants ranged from 2 through to 8 years old. Wide eyed with huge smiles on their little, innocent faces, the children began their much anticipated colour-in-competition. The atmosphere was filled with excitement as the busy children were cheered on by their parents, Boxer staff, and fellow customers.

Only wanting to create excitement through their colour-in-competition, Boxer staff was surprised to find that their entrants each contained an artistic flare as they noticed them turning a white sheet with an Easter themed sketch, into eye-catching works of art. The children proudly handed over their completed artwork to the judges and patiently waited for the winner to be announced. Noticing the concerted effort made by each child, it was difficult to select just one winner. A unanimous decision by the judges was made to reward every child that participated with an Easter hamper. When the little contestants were told that each of them were winners and they were all receiving a hamper, they beamed with joy and excitement. Each large hamper contained Easter goodies and school stationery.

There are many competitions that are held for various reasons but never with the sole purpose of creating joy and giving back to the community. Boxer really wanted to reinforce that they care for their community and shoppers and truly won the heart of their little shoppers through their initiative. Community members showered the friendly staff at Boxer Vryheid with thank you messages and shouts of praise from the kind and thoughtful competition they held.

Boxer Superstores celebrated the opening of their 150th store in Vryburg on 6 December 2012. With over 5 000 transactions processed, the successful event helped to cement Boxer as one of the country’s leading low-cost consumer goods retailers.

Positive growth
The one-stop store, with a trading area of 1 546m², is the result of a concerted push to provide greater choice to a broader reach of South Africans. Boxer increased its trading space by 8.5% during 2012 by opening 20 new stores, including the Vryburg branch.

Marketing Director, Andrew Mills, believes this growth is made possible by the consistent and sincere focus each store has in providing for the needs of its local communities.

“We make every effort to understand our customers’ needs, be passionate about the people we serve, and appreciate the relationship we have with the unique and diverse South African people. Putting the spotlight on who our shoppers are and what they need keeps us strong and relevant in the market,” he says.

Since its inception in 1977, Boxer has grown steadily into a fully-fledged supermarket chain that is strongly represented in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Northwest and the Free State. The company’s store in Swaziland is the first of many steps toward expansion in Africa.

Maintaining success
Boxer Managing Director, Eugene Stoop, says that the supermarket chain’s success formula is based on focus.

“With 150 stores now under our belt and an aggressive planned store rollout program for 2013, we are geared to maintain a healthy bottom line for the Boxer business,” he says.

The company’s plan for the year ahead is to continue its ongoing fight to provide customers with lower prices by building the sustainability of the chain.

“Our goal for 2013 is to maintain our sustainable growth for Boxer and continue to generate sustainable improvements in the lives of our customers through our pocket affordable prices and community-based initiatives,” says Mills.

In 2004, Boxer Superstores diversified and extended its reach by introducing Boxer Build, a brand that focuses on providing affordable building supplies and hardware to its customers.

In the same year, Boxer Superstores became a subsidiary of the Pick n Pay group which maintains an ‘arm’s length’ approach in its involvement with the chain.