Bilal Kardame, Group IT Manager at Fair Price.

Says the company’s group IT manager, Bilal Kardame: “We are a discounter selling attractive, functional and practical furniture and appliances. At the core of the business model is our belief that most home owners, regardless of their financial status, desire a beautiful home. While initially we targeted the lower LSM levels, we’ve now moved into the middle LSM levels, as consumers are increasingly affected by socio-economic pressures.

“We’re not a traditional South African furniture business and don’t offer complicated credit facilities, financial products or contracts. Our lay-by model has always been transparent. No interest, admin or storage charges, and no fixed monthly payments. Our customers choose when and how much to pay over a 12-month period. Our profits are derived from the sale of furniture and appliances and not financial products. Being a discounter with thin margins requires us to be prudent.”

Fair Price is a growing business and is currently the largest independent furniture and appliance retailer, with 100-plus stores and manufacturing and wholesaling operations. Fair Price’s partnerships are important, according to Kardame, and the company has in place such initiatives as its custom-built, in- house ‘hail a bakkie’ solution, which he says has empowered over 300 township bakkie owners to do deliveries for Fair Price. They have also upskilled drivers to do the assembly of DIY items and work with small furniture suppliers to produce niche products.

“We continually innovate and use technology responsibly and we do extensive in-house software development, building the apps that allow us to deliver on our customer promise by way of internal process efficiency improvements. We use technology as an enabler and, as such, it should be fit-for-purpose.”

Kardame says that MTN plays an important role in its ICT and that the relationship is some 20-years strong. He says Fair Price is working with MTN on the next phase of their network evolution and together piloting a SDWAN solution, along with new links, like Tarana.

“This relationship has evolved and I like to think it’s beyond supplier vendor, but rather a collaboration.

MTN has been involved in our digital transformation journey, enabling IT to deliver on its mandate. Some of the MTN services we use include connectivity (MPLS network and multiple types of wireless links), VoIP, mobility, security and cloud.”

He says his current priorities are around the maturation of data projects, both in the AI and business intelligence space, along with evaluating on-prem and cloud workloads.

“AI can add value if it is viewed in the context of the business and will improve the way you operate. AI accelerates the digital transformation of an organisation, but it’s only as good as the data it accesses. It can help bridge company silos and be used to stay relevant and for competitive advantage.” Kardame’s advice on talent retention as a leader sitting at the nexus of business and IT, is to communicate clearly and take interest in the development of your team beyond that which is required to fulfil the business mandate. “When dealing with business, don’t speak IT, and with the IT team, be transparent and don’t leave people guessing. “Own up and take charge. Share information regarding failures and convey the planned resolution.” Kardame loves travel and adventure and has cycled the Argus, hiked the Otter Trail and “jumped off mountains. It’s very important that people have work-life balance. This contributes to retention,” he concludes.

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