The congenial visit to Richline South Africa by the South African Diamonds and Precious Metals Regulator in March 2024 was a successful one. Richline South Africa is responsible for delivering innovative jewellery manufacturing and design and the purpose of this visit was to engage the SADPMR on the organisation’s achievements and what the future holds in store.
Richline Senior Vice President Moss Makhoulian kicked off the presentation with an introduction and welcome, highlighting the details that set Richline SA apart. “We believe in Africa,” Makhoulian begins. Richline was founded in the United States in 2007 with the merger of the two largest jewellery wholesalers, two completely independent entities, to become large enough for a Berkshire Hathaway acquisition. Within a short period and a few strategic acquisitions around the globe, Richline spread its footprint in various parts of the world, including Africa.
Makhoulian emphasised one of Richline’s values during the presentation – building communities in the countries they manufacture from. “We are building this facility to become a major production facility, which means jobs in the community… We are one of the most ethical companies in the world and we will not do anything that deviates from serving communities and being a good corporate citizen. We will do anything to empower the local community and people who work for us, whether it be providing jobs or anything else we can do to improve the lives of our employees and our partners here in Africa.”
Richline, which has been operational in South Africa for 12 years, is committed to working alongside the SADPMR to ensure that the greater good of the continent. With headquarters in Italy for Europe, African headquarters in South Africa, and a presence in China and India, Richline is a force to be reckoned with. Makhoulian highlighted this, “We are one of those companies that people rely on and also want to do business with us because of who we are and also the fact that if they do business with us, they’re going to get paid.”
SADPMR CEO Cecil Khoza expressed the organisation’s support for the work Richline SA is doing. Richline SA’s Johan Bezuidenhout welcomed the support: “As long as we get your support, and we’re not looking for favouritism, just a level playing field, to help us navigate through the bureaucracy of things, for example, and closing the gaps wherever there might be gaps that could benefit what we do here.”
We are one of the most ethical companies in the world and we will not do anything that deviates from serving communites. We will do anything to empower the local community and people who work for us.
Bezuidenhout also highlighted the pride that is present in the workers who have committed many years of their lives to Richline SA. “This woman has dedicated her life for 30 years doing this one thing. How could you not support that? So, this is the thing, that maybe there should be an initiative driven by the ministry towards local, you know, companies or groups that have retail stores and not just in the jewellery industry, but overall, to encourage to buy local, to buy products made in Africa, made in South Africa, by giving them some incentives. Incentivise with the VAT or whatever it might be, and force them in a way to buy local because there is no way product coming from India is cheaper than what we’re doing here. Impossible. Show me, let me believe. Otherwise, there’s no grounds for them to stand down for not buying local.”
Makhoulian expressed the desire to get more young people involved in Richline SA to provide members of the youth with some certainty of their future. “I would love to see young people here in two or three years. Where they are just about to start their lives and they have certainty in their lives and start a family, for example. Who could start a family these days without having certainty in their lives? This is one other thing that we really want to do – try to hire people and encourage them by telling them, you have a job with us. We want to be confident by the local government here that we can make these statements without having to disappoint those we employ later on.”
Independent Adviser Peter Phemelo Moeti stressed the importance of government’s involvement in Richline SA’s operations. “As far as I know, you are the biggest employer as jewellery manufacturers and the Minister [of Mineral Resources and Energy] or Deputy Minister need to come here first and we can make sure they come here first – your employees will be feeling like they matter when they have the Minister here. To you, they matter, but none of the government officials have been here… and it cannot be motivating. We will correct them, but it will take time and it won’t be easy, there will be some tough times and tough conversations, but I think we are making progress.”
Richline SA also welcomed the appointment of Richline Group CEO Mr Dave Meleski as the head of Responsible Jewellery Worldwide (RJW) during the presentation. Bezuidenhout expressed his thanks to the SADPMR for coming to
the visit and encouraged it to be a regular occurrence.
