Durban - Depending on who you speak to, Durban businessman Brett Latimer is hero, father-figure, mentor, gutsy entrepreneur or a downright villain intent on bringing nightclubs and casinos into neighbourhoods and destroying the environment in the process.
Latimer, 60, the man behind the burgeoning Oxford Freshmarket chain who bought the Hillcrest Heritage Market and turned it into the Oxford Village, and has plans to build a “village” in Chatsworth, is facing resistance in some quarters.
In Hillcrest, where he has pumped R150 million into the Oxford village – and is building a multi-functional composite track for bike and skating enthusiasts, a cricket academy, astro-turf soccer pitches, basketball courts, a theatre and a 4X4 driving range – he has been accused of destroying a natural wetland and wanting to build a casino on site.
Latimer denies that there was ever a wetland there, “as the heritage market would have never been built” and says the rumours of the casino are lies being spread by “jealous” neighbours.
In Chatsworth, residents of Westcliff are fighting his plans to build a “village” on a 48 000m2 plot on an arterial road into the suburb, arguing that the centre would lead to an increase in traffic on the congested road and make it harder for residents to get out of their driveways.
A decision on the Chats-worth application is expected in November.
Latimer, by his own admission, is not one to run away from a fight.
In 2011, he shook up the food retail sector in Durban by opening Oxford Freshmarket on the Bluff, taking on established retailers that saw food prices drop for residents.
This came after he sold his six Cambridge Meats stores for about R500m to JSE-listed Massmart between 2008 and 2010.
He now has plans to roll out Oxford stores in Ballito, Chatsworth, Pinetown and eManzimtoti.
Sitting in his newly opened family restaurant at the Oxford Village, Pallet Jacks, which is made from old pallets from his supermarkets and other “up cycled” material, Latimer says he understands why so many are against his plans.
“It’s because I went from R17 000 when I was 22 to R500 million by the time I was 60.... Most people, after getting R500 million, would have gone and retired. They would have bought all the cars, relax and play golf. I bought the cars, I’ve bought the horses, I fly business class, but I work hard still,” he said.
Latimer said a lot of businesses, and people on the Bluff hated him.
“It’s because I tell it like it is. I took the prices on the Bluff and made them affordable for all the people on the Bluff.
Boxing
“Everybody had to follow me, so people hate me for that. The butchers hate me, the supermarket owners hate me, even the employees hate me because there were staff reductions. There are people who resent me because I fight for what I want. I am not scared to use my hands in a boxing match and I am not scared to use my tongue in a verbal boxing match,” he said.
Latimer, a self-proclaimed university dropout, said selling Cambridge after building it up from the ground was like “graduating university”.
“I was there [university] for three months and dropped out. I went to Kearsney College but I failed [matric] and had to go to Damelin to complete my matric. I had to do typing and those other ridiculous subjects just to get my matric.
“I wanted to study law but I had a learning disorder. I am much better at hearing stuff and seeing it and I struggled to learn. My handwriting was terrible. I used to fight a lot in school,” he said.
After dropping out of university, Latimer got a job as a trainee butchery manager at a local retailer.
When he was 22, he inherited R17 000 which he used to open his first butchery in Overport.
Latimer says of all his business achievements, he would like to be remembered as a person who invested in people and fellow entrepreneurs.
He gets to know the staff who work for him, their stories, their spouses and how many people they support financially.
He walks around his store with warm greeting of “ sawubona” to each one, stopping occasionally to hug those he meets in the aisles while cracking jokes with others.
Investing in others
One of the staff who is back working for him is 62-year-old Mildred Mtsokoba who, at the beginning of her career, raised Latimer’s children and later worked as a tea lady at Cambridge.
When he sold Cambridge he bought Mtsokoba a pair of semi-detached houses in Warwick Triangle which she converted into a seven-bedroom B&B that now provides students with accommodation.
Another of his protégées is Zodwa Ntinga, who moved up from being his housekeeper to the manager of his farm in Drummond and the morning restaurant manager.
He proudly says that Ntinga has 23 people who report directly to her either at the farm or at the restaurant.
“A lot of people do not believe there is an opportunity out there, so they don’t take their jobs seriously. If you work at my farm at the restaurant or the supermarket, you move up the ladder.
“When you join, you get on the first step and if you don’t move on to the second step we push you away. We don’t want people who don’t want to move up because there is somebody behind you that needs that step. If you want to be a cleaner for the rest of your life, I don’t want to talk to you.
“It means you are not thinking, you are not seeing, you are not trying. Stop complaining about history, there is nothing you can do about history. Yesterday is gone, today is today and you live for today but you plan for tomorrow,” he said.
Looking over to where earth-moving machines are making way for the composite track, Latimer said that in the past 36 months he had created more than 700 jobs in Hillcrest.
He has ambitious plans for the centre that he says will centre on “social responsibility” and “family values”.
He does not deny that he wants to build a nightclub, but does not want to use that word because it has negative connotations.
“This is a family lifestyle centre. I want families to come here, enjoy themselves with sport, healthy food and healthy socialising. I don’t want some seedy nightclub which is why I’ve waited so long to deal with entertainment.
“I am planning a course of action with regards to entertainment where all age groups are entertained. It is a social venue for people to gather that is controlled.
“I don’t want the knifing and fighting and kicking and biting here. I want a place where people can go to, I want a place where they have value for money. As far as casinos are concerned, sorry sir, not here,” he said.
Daily News