Tourvest announces results and reshuffle

Dermot Davitt

Print Article E-Mail Article E-Mail Author

Tourvest Duty Free managing director Maurice Hartshorne is moving to head the group's jewellery business and is replaced by Ian Hay

Maurice Hartshorne, managing director of Tourvest Duty Free, has been named managing director of the Tourvest group's jewellery business as part of a company reshuffle. Ian Hay, currently group chief financial officer, is to head the duty-free division.

Tourvest CEO Tommy Edmond said: "Getting these two operations, duty-free and jewellery, up to speed is one of our key priorities."

Tourism group Tourvest recorded a R25m ($4.21m) drop in sales for the first six months of the year ended December 31 as the number of foreign tourists to South Africa fell. The group blamed this on the strength of the rand against the dollar. Sales were R800m ($134.68m) for the half-year. Operating income increased from R74.7m ($12.58) to R78.2m ($13.16m).

Edmond said that Europeans, who make up the bulk of tourists to South Africa, had chosen to travel to the cheaper US. Lower volumes from Germany and the UK hit the group hardest. Edmond confirmed that the group was cutting costs and improving efficiency to counter the effects of the strong rand.

The group also said it had experienced start-up problems with its Virgin Atlantic duty-free concession. Edmond told Business Day newspaper: "There were start-up problems, including computer problems, which took about 12 weeks to resolve. Operating in a foreign country has been more difficult than we thought, especially working in the UK, where people only work to rules, very specific times. Then we haven't got the volumes that we anticipated. There are a lot of reasons for that, mostly because we haven't been able to get what we call the "crew club" going properly. Working through unions slowed us down."