Pick 'n Pay Chairperson Raymond Ackerman will formally retire today on his 79th birthday. Ackerman has been at the helm of the company for 43 years after having bought it as a chain of three small stores in Cape Town in 1967. The business tycoon will hand over the reins of the leading retailer to his son, Gareth. Ackerman will hold a media briefing in Cape Town this morning.

Ackerman says although he'll give up all his executive duties, he will continue to promote the company's principles and values. "I'm going to be working on a lot of social responsibility projects such as the Academy for young entrepreneurial students in Cape Town and Johannesburg." Ackerman says there are six or seven other charities that he wants to get more involved in.

Five years ago Ackerman donated R4 million to Cape Town's Red Cross Children's Hospital in Rondebosch in celebration of his 75th birthday. The donation by Ackerman was the largest ever received by the Hospital Trust from a single individual.