Allan Hirsch, who founded Hirsch’s Homestore with his wife, Margaret, is one of South Africa’s most successful businessmen. However, his path to success was unique.
He is an example of someone who came from humble beginnings and overcame numerous personal challenges to become successful.
Hirsch told the show, It’s More Than Just Money, that he did not perform well academically and had numerous challenges at school.
“I was held back in grade 2 and failed grade 4. His parents then decided to move me to a school with smaller classes because I was ‘not as bright as other children’,” he said.
After completing primary school, he moved to Pietermaritzburg Technical School where he focused on electrical work.
He aimed to complete grade 10, leave school, and become a fridge mechanic. However, he failed grade 10, which changed his life.
“I went to my dad with my report card, which had red rings around all my marks. My father told me that I must realise that I would never get a matric,” he said.
“He advised me to study to become a tradesman, saying I could get a bakkie one day and start my own business. The seed about starting a business was planted.”
He completed his compulsory military training and then started working at Fuchsware as an apprentice to fix electrical appliances.
Four years into his five-year apprenticeship, he met Margaret, and they were married eleven months later. They moved into a small flat in Durban.
At that stage, he was set to be a mechanic fixing fridges and air conditioners for the rest of his life. “I had no ambition at that stage,” he said.
However, everything changed after his neighbour advised him to see a professor specialising in learning disabilities.
He was diagnosed with dyslexia and was helped to overcome his learning disability. “After that, I believed I could do anything,” he said.
Hirsch and his wife bought a piece of land in the North of Durban and want to build a house for their family.
He asked his manager at Fuchsware if he could work close to his new property to oversee the construction, and he agreed.
Many people in the region asked him to fix their appliances. However, he said it was not allowed as he worked for Fuchsware.
The people complained that the service from the local repair company was poor, and that they would prefer that he help them.
He approached the company head, who also owned Atlas Radio, and said he could address the poor service levels. Three months later, they struck a deal.
They opened a new company, called EAR (Electrical Appliance Repair company), in which Hirsch had a 40% shareholding.
However, the business model extended beyond repairs. When an appliance could not be fixed, they would sell the client a new appliance.
However, it did not work out as expected. Most clients whose appliances could not be fixed went to a discount store instead of using the company to buy a new appliance.
Hirsch advised his business partner to sell appliances at the same price as the discount store to ensure they kept their customer.
However, he told Hirsch that he should not tell him how to run his business and should focus on the repairs, as per the agreement.
He breached the subject again eighteen months later, after he and his wife had two kids, Richard and Luci.
This time, his business partner told him that he should start his own business if he thought it was such a good idea. This is exactly what he did.
In 1979, with only R900 in his pocket, he started Hirsch’s Electrical Repairs with his wife, Margaret. This is despite having just built a home and having two young children.
He hired premises for which he paid R300 rent, he spent another R300 on electricity, and the other R300 he spent on marketing.
Their initial showroom was a tiny space in Umhlanga Rocks Drive in Durban North, no bigger than a bathroom.
Four people who worked with him at his previous company said they want to work for him and joined the company.
Hirsch’s Electrical Repairs showed strong growth on the concept of excellent customer service, integrity, and focusing on the basics.
In 1984, they moved into bigger premises, expanding the business and the Hirsch brand. The Hirsch’s Homestore brand followed, and it was a great success.
The company evolved into a chain of mega appliance and home furnishing stores in KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town, and Gauteng, offering top brands and quality service.
Today, Hirsch’s is a prominent name in the appliance and electronics industry with 19 branches and concept stores across South Africa.
It is the largest independently owned appliance and electronics retailer in Southern Africa, with well over a billion rand in turnover.
“People often ask me the secret to success, and I tell them there’s no secret. You have to focus on the basics. Customer service is a basic,” he said.
“We have always tried to remember and implement the little things, like greeting a customer, smiling, walking them back to the till and carrying their parcels to the car.”
Issued on BusinessTech by Staff Writer | https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/825568/the-man-who-failed-grade-10-and-became-a-multi-millionaire/
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