Oxford Freshmarket embarks on massive expansion in Durban
Caxton Local Media’s Group Editor Corrinne Louw chats to Brett Latimer, co-owner of Oxford Freshmarket and a force to be reckoned with in the supermarket business.
WE walked about 300m from the head office to the bustling store at Oxford Freshmarket Hillcrest for a period of about four minutes, and in that time, Brett Latimer jovially greeted three Oxford staff members in their mother tongue, while they took a break from working in the store which had been bustling since 08:00 on that Tuesday morning.
When we entered the store, it continued, and the fresh-produce guy, reeling in a batch of butternut, lowered his trolley to shake the boss’ hand. Then a customer stopped to chat.
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And if he wasn’t wearing an Oxford T-shirt or wasn’t so well known in the store, one would never tell that Latimer was the force behind plans to open another four Oxford Freshmarket stores across Durban.
If all goes according to plan, Oxford Freshmarket Linkhills, opposite the Watercrest Mall, will be up and running before the end of 2022. “We will be creating 200 jobs, and the retail space will be 3 200 square metres. It will be double the size of Oxford Freshmarket Hillcrest,” said Latimer.
The 66-year-old father of three does not plan to stop there. “Plans are already in place to open up a store in Amanzimtoti, opposite Galleria. This will be to the tune of R50m and will be complete by the end of next year.”
According to Latimer, the store will stretch the expanse of 4 000 square metres, which, once completed, will be their biggest yet. Plans are also afoot to open an Oxford Freshmarket in Durban North and in the ever-expanding Cornubia precinct.
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Latimer steers the ship with his business partner Paul Beltramo, who is a co-owner and managing director.
“For us, ‘With You in Mind’ is more than our Oxford tagline; it represents our entire ethos. We are 100% committed to our customers’ needs, the quality of the products we sell, the pricing of produce, our staff and to growing our staff and brand.”
Latimer makes this clear when he talks, not only about his current stores, staff and products, but also about the stores that are yet to open.
This ethos is evident when one enters Oxford Freshmarket Hillcrest, which sees some 90 000 transactions a month, totalling a revenue of R29m monthly. “Two hundred thousand people walk through this store every month where only the quality beats the price.
“One thing we are committed to is to look within to find our own diamonds, educate our own people, promote them and nurture them. We have just enlarged our HR department, and we are asking our staff to update their CVs because we want to find those staff who might be square pegs in round holes, and find them their square.”
On how he came by the name Oxford, which is so well known around Durban, Latimer said: “It was my daughter Abigail and I. I had just sold Cambridge Food supermarkets to Massmart, and I said I had a founder’s degree from Cambridge, then she said, ‘All you need now is an honour’s degree from Oxford’, hence the name Oxford.”
There’s no doubt that shoppers looking for fresh food at the best prices will welcome the black-and-red colours which distinctly mark Oxford stores, as the super fresh-market giant further expands across Durban.
