Making business a Plus factor

Just a few minutes with entrepreneur Jose Carvalho could leave anyone energised and believing nothing is impossible, no matter the odds.

Carvalho is the owner of the rapidly growing convenience store Plus, a partner in several shopping centres, a hotel or two, a beverage company and more.

He started from a tiny base and in two decades achieved stuff nothing short of exceptional.

When he was 14, he was shipped across the Atlantic from Madeira to join his dad at the family’s Elandsfontein convenience store. He leapt in and worked for his dad for two years.

Carvalho said: “I was supposed to go back to school when I arrived, but my dad had other plans and put me to work.”

That was a learning curve and an important one, as his father returned to Madeira when he was 16. He said: “I was in the deep end and co-managed the store with my dad’s business partner.”

Carvalho saved and bought out the partner when he was 18. Now, 27 years later there are 32 Plus convenience stores – and that’s only in Gauteng. He said that growth into other provinces will roll out eventually, but he is taking his time.

In between the first shop and today’s growing brand, Carvalho said that he used his savings to buy into other convenience stores. “I had a lot of friends who also opened convenience stores around the province and, as I had the cash, I started buying into their businesses.”

It’s a partnership strategy that works for him to this day. Soon his interests grew, and one store turned to two, three to seven, and eight to 10.

He smiled: “I bought my first BMW when I was 20; my first house when I was 21.”

He added that hard work and never being afraid of elbow grease and a drop of sweat pays dividends. “Nobody is entitled to achieve any measure of success, it’s the dividend of effort.”

Carvalho changed his collective of shops into a brand seven years ago. A friend suggested he consolidate all the different outlets under a single brand name and standardise his value proposition.

It worked, and Plus was born.

He smiled, remembering the original rationale for calling the group Plus: “The name is based on the notion of a ‘special offer. Buy this plus that for only Rxx’.”

“My goal is to first become the best convenience store brand in Gauteng. But the value proposition extends further than just a price or a hard-sell model. I want Plus to be the best in terms of quality and service. That means everything to me.”

Carvalho didn’t become a desk jockey counting cents. “That’s what accountants are for,” he laughed.

He is on the road every day, visiting outlets, speaking to staff, meeting customers and keeping his ear to the ground. It’s clear his staff adore him. One staffer shared that Carvalho often helps employees and always lends an ear.

The employee said: “When someone has a baby, Jose is there. When there is sadness in someone’s family, Jose can spend hours listening to someone. He is an incredible boss to work for.”

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Carvalho blushed when he heard that. To him, employees are part of the extended family.

He said: “My philosophy is to grow the business from the inside out. A lesson I learnt early on is not to bring external people into the company when there is so much talent here already. I would much rather grow people inside the business, elevate them, than bring in outsiders.”

Life is one giant adventure for Carvalho. He recently started a distribution business and plans to continue investing here.

He said: “SA is a young country and has many lessons and growing pains to go through. And we will get to the other side. I have no doubt.”