The man who worked for SPAR for 30 years, then became CEO of another major retailer in South Africa
Less than two years ago, Eugene Ronné stepped away from his role in Retail Operations and Sales for SPAR in Switzerland and returned to South Africa to become CEO for one of the country’s biggest stationery retailers—PNA.
Ronné matriculated in 1984 at Bosmansdam High School in Cape Town, after which he obtained his National Diploma in Marketing and Sales Management from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 1989.
He spent the last 36 years in retail, starting as a buyer at SPAR and later at Woolworths.
Ronné began his first managerial role in 1992 as Purchasing Manager for SPAR, where he held the position for 16 years, buying, managing, and mentoring across all supermarket and retail categories, serving as a right-hand man to the Marketing Executive.
“I have also been instrumental in ensuring the success of TOPS Liquor within the SPAR Western Cape region and further managed the Marketing element of the CATMAN (Category Management) team,“ he said.
In 2009, Ronné became Senior Retail Operations Manager for SPAR, serving as a business consultant to a customer base of 60 SPAR retailers.
For nearly eight years, he held this position, ensuring that wholesale (DC) purchase and retail sales budgets were achieved, DC loyalty targets were met, and the portfolio DC Debtor book was contained.
In 2016, he took on the role of Group Merchandise Manager, where he led the Group Food business based in KwaZulu-Natal, managing the relationship with all major food suppliers and agreeing and managing the Group Trading Terms and Rebates.
In this role, Ronné was part of a team that conceptualised and launched new SPAR in-store concepts, including SPAR Natural.
“I was also responsible for Group Food Imports and, as such, procured at International Trade Shows,” he said.
In 2021, Ronné became the Divisional Marketing & Merchandise Executive for SPAR, where he was responsible for Sales and Gross Profit across the Western Cape and Namibia.
In 2022, he moved to Switzerland to work for SPAR’s Schweiz Group, specialising in Commercial Projects and Retail or “Aktionsmanager.”
“It has always been a dream to live, work and experience Europe and its rich cultural heritage, whilst broadening my experience base in international markets,” he said.
The retail expert returned to South Africa in 2024 and became CEO of one of the country’s biggest stationery retailers, PNA.
About PNA
PNA has become Southern Africa’s top retailer of stationery, office essentials, art and craft materials, books, educational books, and educational toys.
Founded in 1992, the company now has over 142 stores across all nine South African provinces and four in Namibia.
PNA functions as a franchise group, with each store independently owned and run by local entrepreneurs, headquartered in Johannesburg and employing around 2,000 employees nationwide.
The stationery retailer said this franchise structure enables personalised customer service and strong connections with local communities.
PNA raised R2 million from its 2025 “funky socks day” campaign, supporting four charities— Breadline Africa, CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation SA, Rally to Read, and Matla a Bana.
“Participants stepped up in their funkiest socks, proudly wearing their R10 stickers and sharing their spirit online,” said the stationery retailer.
PNA’s 2025 campaign helped raise funds for 50 educational packs, which were delivered to under-resourced schools via Breadline Africa.
Other community projects include Digital Learning Support provided to young cancer patients through CHOC’s iPad Learning Programme.
Teacher Training and Literacy Resources were provided by Rally to Read. Additionally, 600 comfort packs were distributed to survivors of child abuse by Matla a Bana.
(Update: the article has been updated to correct PNA’s employee numbers)
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