The South African Booksellers Association would like to congratulate Ugan Poobalan, and the Van Schaik Team on his appointment as Managing Director of Van Schaik Bookstores. Ugan has a long history in bookselling starting with Juta Bookstores, and with over 18 years at Van Schaik Bookstore, he has a wealth of experience in the industry and the Academic Bookselling sector. Van Schaik Bookstores have been long standing members and their team have been active participants in the SA Booksellers Association. The Association looks forward to continue working with Ugan and his team to promote Academic Bookselling, Bookselling, a Culture of Reading and furthering Education in South Africa. We would also like to convey our best wishes to Stephan Erasmus the […]
Melvin Kaabwe was elected as the President of SABA at the 2019 SABA/PASA AGM in Cape Town in August. Melvin is currently the Head of Digital at Van Schaik’s, and has more than 10 years’ experience in retail and banking, having worked at Edcon and Nedbank previously. He has a BSc in Science, and still has a keen interest in the subject. Melvin has a passion for reading and grew up with books as a constant companion while travelling throughout the world as the son of a Fulbright scholar and UN academic. He also sits on the board of PUKU.
Grattan Kirk was elected National Chair for the General Trade at SABA’s Annual General Meeting, which took place in Cape Town in August. Grattan started as CEO of South Africa’s leading bookseller in September 2018. Grattan is a qualified CA, and has served as CEO at JD Group and Executive at Tiger Brands. He sits on the Audit Committee and Board of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa.
Where book, reader and author meet is where the magic happens,and that so often happens in a bookstore. I am delighted to have the opportunity to play in this space again.’ Batya Bricker has spent over 20 years in the South African book industry in various roles – as Programme Manager for three very different book festivals, as an independent publisher and editor, as lecturer in adult education, and course developer for SABA, but her longest tenure has been at Exclusive Books, where she spent 13 years managing and driving the Exclusive Books brand, from 1999 to 2012. It is indeed a homecoming of sorts to have her return to Exclusive Books as the GM of Marketing, Retail and Procurement.
SABA secretary and bookselling legend Peter Adams elected to step down from his role after 40 years of selfless service to the book trade. Peter is a direct descendant of the family who opened Adams Books in Durban in 1865, and served as Managing Director for nearly 50 years. He served in various portfolios at the SA Bookseller’s Association for an uninterrupted period of more than 40 years. According to Peter, ‘Adams has never been totally profit focused. We have tried to give a good and needed service and see bookselling as a vocation as well as a business’. Long may his legacy endure.
