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Sandtonista Business: Athony Spitz

Anthony Spitz, co-founder of the luxury footwear emporium named after him and his cousin, David, strikes a decidedly refined pose in Sandton City’s flagship Spitz showroom as he chats to lifestyle and fashion journalists during a recent visit to his hometown.

The company’s publicists have been on a media rampage, setting back-to-back interviews, as if for a retail head of state, which, one might easily argue, Anthony Spitz is. And, tellingly, not only has Spitz taken the demanding schedule in his stride, but one might even argue that he relishes the process. After all, he’s at liberty to expound on a madly successful business that he loves – A&D Spitz – which he and David co-founded in 1968.

In 2006, A&D Spitz was acquired by JSE-listed holding company, AVI, which has set out to reinvigorate and expand the brand. It has been crisply repackaged as Spitz, and the number of its retail outlets has been upped from 24 to more than 50 branches in the past three years.

“This business is like my child,” he says. “I’ve seen it grow through the years and now, through AVI, it has the ability to continue growing into a major consumer branded company, really for the first time since we first started it in 1968. AVI is a powerful company, but it’s one that has shown marvellous ability to adapt itself, in its retail investments, to the very important family business model, exuding warmth and human contact with its staff and customers. ”

Spitz relishes the good ol’ days. Who can forget the cutting-edge, three-level Spitz emporium in Eloff Street’s St Mary’s Arcade – it was the absolute height of haute, back in the day when ladies “took tea” and wore hats and gloves to the fashion shows at nearby Stuttafords. “In our heyday, we had 10 stores in the centre of Jo’burg. My dad and his brothers had owned a retail chain called Barnes. One of their main stores had been on the corner of Plein and Hoek streets in 1953, and now we’ve just reopened a Spitz there on the same spot. A full circle.”

That said, it’s obvious that Spitz is even more passionate about the here and now. “I’ve lived in London for the past 19 years, but still visit home four or five times a year. You can take a boy out of South Africa, but you can never take South Africa out of the boy. I still cry when I hear the national anthem! My daughter Andy lives here. She’s a filmmaker, and I regularly combine business visits and spending time with her.”

It’s even more obvious, as he speaks, that Spitz oozes an unbridled passion for family, friends and community service (he was instrumental in the team that created the Great Park Synagogue from of the old Wolmarans Street Shul). But, ultimately, it’s the retail game that most captures his imagination.

“The service levels and people here never cease to amaze me. There’s a natural gentleness, a great sense of humour and heartfelt connection with customers. But what I’m finding most fascinating recently is the rise of the rural areas, like Hazyview, as they’re now starting to enjoy disposable incomes. And consumers are just as savvy as their London or Jo’burg counterparts.”
Spitz is in a perfect position to compare too, as it seems he’s always on the plane between the two cities. “I really enjoy the best of both worlds,” he says, “as I’m equally comfortable in both London and Johannesburg. I’m still involved in a variety of South African charities, so that keeps me busy here, and I also have family and loads of friends here, so I’ll always return.
“When the jacarandas bloom, I know exactly where I am – South Africa. It’s where my heart is, and always will be.”

Details: Spitz, tel 0860 109 321

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