A reliable supplier is as vital to any business as the loyal customer.
So when Leon Slabbert’s trusted supplier defaulted on his taxes, the word crisis was an understatement.
“One winter, the guy that supplied me did not pay his taxes and Sars sent me a letter saying they had appointed me as their agent and I was not allowed to pay him.
“In the space of a day, I had no business and had to change course,” the 66-year-old Slabbert said.
More than two decades later, with scores of awards lining his wall, the latest being a national award from the Red Meat Industry Forum, recognising Cuyler Butchery as the best in the country, Slabbert can reflect back on the mishap as perhaps the hand of providence.
Located at the corner of Durban and John Streets in Kariega, Cuyler Butchery is an atypical example of the local butcher, with loyal customers who will swear by its meat.
Recently, the butchery won the Platinum Award at the Cleaver Awards where more than 135,000 butchers tried to prove they were the best in the country.
Before bagging the national award, Cuyler Butchery had, for years, been taking top accolades in the province including the platinum butcher award.
Thirty years on from when he first cut his teeth as an offal trader, Slabbert brings down their success to a great team and knowing how to take care of your customers.
“I am humbled.
“My philosophy is, because God can, I can.
“I also have great staff and some have been with me for 35 years.
“We listen to what the customer wants.
“If they want it we try to get it and if there is a complaint [we] address it,” he said.
While primarily catering for daily purchases with an assortment of wares, including biltong, carcasses, pre-cut stakes and cold meat products, the butchery does bulk supply for other businesses such as restaurants.
“You’ve got to have a balanced business.
“If you have lamb and you sell everything else but you still have the neck and four shanks, the reality is you have not made a profit until everything is gone,” Slabbert said.
Estimating they move 200 tonnes of meat a week, Slabbert said they source from across the country, depending on where the best and most capable supplier is.
“If I want 24 tonnes of rump stake I am not going to get it here and obviously because of all the years in the business; abattoir masters tend to move.
“Because my name is good for payment and consistency, they want to move with me,” he said, adding that word of mouth was also beneficial with suppliers.
The Cleaver Awards were hosted in Johannesburg earlier this month.
They are a Red Meat Industry Forum initiative with independent auditing done by the SA Meat Industry Company.
Cuyler Butchery won the 2022 platinum award for a major distributor.
Van der Stel Butchery and Continental Butchery located in Gqeberha also got the nod for the provincial platinum and gold awards.
Slabbert says they will be opening another branch in Walmer later this year.
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