Colia and Elizabeth Louis

It has been a tremendous privilege during my sixty-plus years of working on the frontlines of Louis Group (Africa) to witness its expansion from humble beginnings to a dynamic Group comprised of loyal, passionate people offering entrepreneurial products to a growing family of clientele. We have come a long way since my father and uncle established their wholesale business in Bloemfontein in 1914 and we have persevered over nine decades through both good and challenging economic times. I am personally persuaded that we owe the longevity of our family business to the grace and providence of God, for which I remain truly thankful.

However, we do not take the enduring success of this company lightly and I am keenly aware that the past and future success of the Group hinges on the integrity and faith of its leaders. To ensure that the Louis legacy prospers for generations to come, I have deliberately transferred the skills I have learned over the years to my sons and other key leaders. The consistent focus on the importance of treating our clients like members of the family and the positive values on which this company has been built have in turn filtered down to the Group’s staff. These are the principles which continue to guide our business dealings on a daily basis.

I always remind my staff that your reputation is an invaluable asset and worth preserving – in our case, one that we have carefully established over several decades in business. We are aware that we are not only creating wealth for our families and clients today, but also for generations to come and this multi-generational approach is best demonstrated by the following core strategies:

• We invest our personal funds together with those of our investors in carefully selected projects. This “partnership” provides our investors with the comfort of knowing that a family enterprise is attentive to their interests at all times;
• We hold a long-term view on wealth creation and we encourage our valued clients to consider the preservation and sustainable growth of their wealth beyond this present generation; and
• We wholeheartedly commit to empowering marginalised individuals and businesses by partnering with other like-minded organisations to serve these communities.

As a family business, we may be small compared to corporate giants, but we are large at heart. We therefore seek to win and keep the hearts of clients old and new, who we trust in turn will be happy to invest with us.

We look forward to the privilege of working together to our mutual benefit.