Economic decline and gentrification in a small town: the business sector in Aberdeen, Eastern Cape

Figures & data

Table 1: People living in poverty in Aberdeen – 1996 and 2001

	People living in poverty, 1996	%	People living in poverty, 2001	%
Black	579	42	760	53
White	21	2	40	4
Coloured	2547	41	3047	50
Total	3148	37	3847	44

Table 2: Business trends in Aberdeen – 1961, 1971 and 2006

	1961^a	1971^b	2006	Trend
Bank and bank branch	3	3	2	Decrease
Cash loans			1	New type
Garage/vehicle repair	3	3	3	Static
Building society	2	2	–	Type disappeared
Insurance office		1	–	Decrease
Medical doctor and specialist		1	2	Static
Chemist	1	1	–	Decrease
Attorney	2	1	1	Decrease
Estate agent and auctioneer	3	2	4	Static
Butchery	3	6	1	Decrease
Dairy	1		–	Decrease
Tea room/café/tuck shop	2	3	3	Static
Bakery	1	–	–	Decrease
Bottle store	1	1	4	Increase
Restaurant			2	Increase
Department store			1	Increase
Groceries/general dealer	21	6	14	Decrease, then increase
Produce buyer		2	–	Decrease
Wholesaler			–	Decrease
Hardware	1		2	Increase
Speciality/arts and crafts			3	Increase
Electrician/plumber		2	1	Decrease
Builder/carpenter		1	4	Increase
Hotel/guesthouse	1	1	5	Increase
Art gallery			1	New type of business
Nightclubs			1	New type
Transport		2	4	Increase
Clothing/tailor	4	–	2	Decrease
Funeral service	1		1	Static
Hairdresser	3	1	1	Decrease
Upholsterer/furniture		2	1	Decrease
General agent	1	2	–	Decrease/disappeared
Printing	1	1
Brickmaker	1
Bicycle shop	1
Windmills	1
Cinema	1
Hides and skins	1
^a Braby's Business Directory, 1961, p. 1-C. ^b Cape Times Directory, 1971, p. 1.

Table 3: Businesses in Aberdeen, July 2006

Type of business	n	%
Groceries, vegetables, butcheries, bakeries	15	25
Cars, mechanics, filling stations	3	5
Construction, artisans	10	16
Restaurants, eateries	3	5
Accommodation	5	8
Bottle stores, shebeens (excluding illegal shebeens)	6	10
Clothing	3	5
Arts and crafts	3	5
Funeral services	1	2
Health/medical services	1	2
Transport, taxis	3	5
Personal services – hair, beauty	2	3
Furniture	1	2
Financial services, banks	3	5
Real estate	2	3
Total	61	100

Table 4: Length of residence in Aberdeen

Resident in Aberdeen	n	%
Recent (1–2 years)	8	13
3–10 years	14	21
11–20 years	7	12
Over 20 years	31	51
Total	61	100

Table 5: Length of ownership of businesses

Ownership of businesses	n	%
Recent (1–2 years)	22	44
3–10 years	18	36
11–20 years	5	10
Over 20 years	5	10
Total	50	100

Table 6: Monthly turnover (business revenue)

Monthly turnover	n	%
R0–R500	3	7
R1001–R5000	9	22
R5001–R10 000	6	15
R10 001–R50 000	11	28
More than R50 000	11	28
Total	40	100

Table 7: Diversification options

Directions for diversification	n
Groceries, vegetables, butcheries, bakeries	3
Construction, artisans	3
Restaurant, eatery	2
Bottle stores, shebeens	1
Clothing	1
Arts and crafts	5
Health	1
Personal services – hair, beauty	1
Furniture/appliances	4
Gardening/crops/agriculture	2
Selling electricity	1
Gambling	1
Events management	1

Table 8: Employment creation by Aberdeen businesses

Number of employees	n	%
None	8	13
1–2	26	43
3–10	22	36
11–15	3	5
More than 15	1	2
Total	60	100

Table 9: Education levels of business owners and manager

Education level	n	%
High school – Grade 10	18	30
Matric – Grade 12	23	38
Diploma	12	20
University degree	7	12
Total	60	100

Table 10: Training desired for business owners and employees

Type of training desired	For business owners	For employees
Bricklaying/building	3	5
Carpentry	1	1
Computer skills	2	3
Management	11	13
Sewing/weaving	1	1
Accounting/bookkeeping/finance	4	2
Marketing	3	–
Cooking	1	–
Hairdressing	1	–
Plumbing	–	1
Customer service	–	2
Driving	–	2
Nursing	–	1