Building a Legacy in Ballito

The Rencken name has become aligned with growth, development and success. Bruce and Paul seem to have the Midas touch when it comes to investing and building. But where did their story begin? How did two brothers from northern KwaZulu-Natal become successful developers? In the first of a two-part series we bring you an in depth insight into the Rencken’s story.

“We were shopkeepers. That’s what we knew.” This is how Bruce and Paul Rencken proudly describe their family, and the solid legacy of their father. Bruce and Paul Rencken’s story begins humbly, with two young men growing up in the footsteps of a father who was as passionate about his work, as his sons are now. The brothers grew up spending most of their time at the back of their father’s store in Mandeni, where they did everything from pushing trollies to selling loose cigarettes.

“There was a kraal behind the store, where we would wait to herd the cattle in with our father. We played hide and seek in the store. That’s how we grew up, so where Paul and I are today was simply a natural progression as traders.”

Observing their father, who was one of the founding members of Spar South Africa, and their uncle running the stores ignited Bruce and Paul’s entrepreneurial spirit. “You see your father and you want to be like him. But, my father never once forced Paul or me into the business. If we showed an interest then he was there to guide us.”

Bruce studied a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and qualified as a chartered accountant, though he confidently says: “I knew I’d never be a CA.” After travelling through Europe with his then girlfriend, now wife, a 25-year-old Bruce returned and told his father he wanted to work for him. “My father’s response was: ‘I’ll be in my office for six months if you need me’. And that’s how we started.” Their father’s gentle guidance and stellar example set the Rencken brothers up to buy their first stores, from their father and uncle. They immediately set themselves up for a challenge as the stores were not performing at their best.

“But we believed we could turn them around,” says Bruce with the steely determination he and his brother have been known to exhibit. Though, Bruce admits that turning the stores around was a tough move emotionally. “We came from the biggest independently owned Spar in South Africa, to owning two struggling stores. That was a smash to our egos. We had to build up who we were again. But we kept it simple; took the keys, opened early and closed late. That was what we knew, and that was what we did.”

The stores soon turned with the Renckens at the helm, but their journey was just beginning. An opportunity for further development presented itself in the form of the old Spar in downtown Ballito, which was facing financial difficulty. By then, Bruce and Paul were living in Zinkwazi. “We were focusing on what we had and growing organically around those businesses, so buying the Spar in Ballito was our next logical step.” Following the same methodical example set by their father Bruce and Paul grabbed hold of the Ballito Spar and swung it around. A short while later, their horizons expanded…yet again.

A developer approached the Renckens about being an anchor tenant at a proposed shopping mall near the Ballito Business Park. That deal fell through, and consultants who had worked on the proposed mall formed a syndicate, which they wanted the Renckens to be a part of. “We then looked at going into a fifty-fifty joint venture and eventually, we thought we’d buy the land and build the mall ourselves.” Unbeknown to the Renckens, they were about to change the face of Ballito irrevocably: the seed that gave way to the Lifestyle Shopping Centre had been planted.

But the road ahead was not easy. Anything but.

“Paul and I backpacked through Johannesburg, knocking on countless doors to get tenants into Lifestyle. We refused to hear the word ‘no’. At the time we really had no clue of deal structure or tenanting…I think our naivety at the time served us well, in that we kept everything simple. There is a lesson in that – don’t over-complicate things.” Getting financing for the mall was a challenge; Lifestyle’s inception almost 12 years ago came on the back of regional shopping centre, the Gateway Theatre of Shopping, which had a relatively slow start. “And here we were, building a shopping centre in the middle of sugar cane. But we knew what we wanted: a neighbourhood shopping centre that was convenient and simple.”

Bruce and Paul racked up around 13 000 photographs of shopping centres they studied before they planned the three-phase Lifestyle Shopping Centre. Amazingly, he does not recall a time when either he or Paul doubted that they would pull it off. “We had what we believed Ballito needed. We grew up in a small town, which was where Ballito was at that stage, so we were familiar with the territory. There were obstacles and hurdles along the way, but we learnt from them. We failed hundreds of times, but here we are. We kept going and we are still going – the success of Lifestyle is its tenants and the community we serve. It’s just brilliant that the vision of Lifestyle aligned itself to closely to the mind set of Ballito’s people. Lifestyle lives as Ballito lives.”

Lifestyle has undoubtedly proved pivotal in the subsequent development of Ballito, and some may argue that it was the catalyst for Ballito’s rapid growth. Still, Bruce Rencken is reluctant to take credit. “If we didn’t do it, someone else would have. But we did it,” he chuckles. The Renckens have an impressive property portfolio, encompassing Lifestyle, McCarthy Toyota, a 50 percent stake in Virgin Active, the upcoming McDonald’s Ballito franchise and their forthcoming development adjacent to the new Ballito interchange, also a joint venture. Bruce says they are not actively seeking to develop outside Ballito…unless the opportunity pops up. “I’ve always believed that if you develop something, you must be close enough to enjoy it. So, Ballito is where we are.”

The Rencken story is – at the risk of sounding clichéd – nothing short of remarkable. From the sons of a shopkeeper, to shopkeepers themselves, to landlords, to property developers – with Lifestyle alone creating around 2500 permanent jobs. Bruce speaks fondly of a church group that comes to collect food from Spar every week in a bakkie, through which they estimate they fed their millionth person last year. But do they ever stop and look at what they have achieved? Absolutely. “It’s good to celebrate success. It’s amazing to walk around Lifestyle and think – I own that brick. That little paving stone…that’s mine.” When asked if they had a path that they wanted to follow, the answer was: “It’s very difficult to determine your path or  define  precisely  where you are going. It’s about actively looking for opportunities and running with them.”

The key is the strength of their brotherly relationship. “The secret is that each of us thinks the other is more important to the business. Each would be shattered if the other wasn’t around.”

And…when do they stop?

“We work hard, very hard. I have always loved building things…it must be a throwback to my Lego days,” He quips. “It’s fun! We haven’t thought about stopping, or about having enough. For now, it’s about the journey – we’re still on it.”