Business Talk – Takealot Group CEO Frederik Zietsman on how e-commerce is evolving in South Africa

In this episode of Business Talk with Michael Avery, Takealot Group CEO Frederik Zietsman discusses how the company is innovating in the South African ecommerce sector.

Zietsman attended Paarl Boy’s High and studied at Stellenbosch University, where he became a qualified Chartered Management Accountant.

Before joining Takealot in 2015, Zietsman spent over five years working for Distell, focusing on revenue growth management and commercial business analytics.

He then moved to Takealot as a profitability analyst, before being appointed Head of Retail and Marketplace in 2017. 

Zietsman was then appointed CEO of Takealot.com in 2021 and held this position for nearly three years before becoming CEO of Takealot Group earlier this year.

The interview

In this interview, Zietsman discusses his first few months as Takealot Group CEO.

He explains why Takealot Group continues to lead the local ecommerce market, noting that it is a proudly South African business that has earned the trust and respect of consumers.

Zietsman then discusses how Takealot continues to grow its business in the country, including through its new distribution centre in KwaZulu-Natal, the launch of TakealotMORE and TakealotNOW, and the company’s focus on expanding Mr D to become more than a food delivery company.

He also shares his thoughts on several of Takealot Group’s biggest competitors in South Africa, including Amazon, Shein, and Temu. 

Zietsman concludes the interview by detailing his predictions for how the South African ecommerce industry will change in the years ahead.

Watch the full interview with Frederik Zietsman below.