Sheila Makhoba has been with Food Lover’s Market since mid-2017 and was initially appointed as Edible Groceries Buyer for the Inland region. Sheila has worked hard in the last 20 months and has recently been promoted to Head Buying Manager for the Inland Region. According to Sheila, “My time with the business has taught me a lot and has allowed me to grow within my field. The lessons and experiences have definitely moulded my view on life and made me a better individual”.
We spoke to Sheila Makhoba about her journey with Food Lover’s Market and to find out what a day in her life is like:
1. What is your background and how did you get into retail?
I have been in retail for 15 years and I started as a part-time cashier at Edgars. I worked my way up to become an Assistant Product Manager five years later. I am currently studying with Unisa, doing BCom Marketing Management, and I’m in my final year.
2. What interests you about Buying? What has it taught you?
I like the fast-paced environment and I love interacting with different people. I also enjoy that my job is not too routine – every day has its own challenges. The job has taught me about teamwork and that you can’t do everything by yourself.
3. What do you love about your job?
I love interacting with different stakeholders and what makes it all worth it is realising consumer satisfaction.
4. Please give me a rundown of what your day consists of.
I usually have quite a varied day that includes meetings with suppliers for business and product reviews, listing new products and doing promotions. I also spend quite a bit of time analysing the sales figures and implementing price maintenance.
5. What do you believe is the most important part of your job?
I believe there are two very important functions of my job. One, to meet business objectives and turnover; and secondly, to meet the customers’ expectations at all times.
6. What do you like doing after work on a normal day?
I try to spend as much time as I can with my family, however, I often find myself lost in a book.
7. What values do you live by?
- Respect – to accomplish our objectives we need to respect our jobs and each other. It makes for a great and productive working environment;
- Integrity – every day I strive to maintain fairness within the team and ensure that there is transparency between the different stakeholders.
