Pep and Ackermans owner Pepkor has announced the acquisition of Choice Clothing, a discount retailer with more than 100 stores in SA and Namibia.
The acquisition marks a significant step in Pepkor’s strategy to boost its presence in the adult wear market, where its market share has traditionally been “under-indexed”, the group said.
“Choice Clothing is positioned at the bottom-end of the discount market, a high growth segment that bridges the gap between the formal discount and informal markets. This acquisition is therefore highly complementary to Pepkor's expansive retail footprint and will further strengthen the group’s ability to reach customers in the formal and informal market with the absolute lowest prices,” the group said.
Pepkor COO Sean Cardinaal said the acquisition offered an opportunity to expand the group’s presence in the discount and informal markets.
“While the Choice business may be small in comparison to other Pepkor businesses, this is a business that we can grow aggressively by leveraging our scale and capability to potentially triple the retail footprint in the medium term.”
The announcement comes after Pepkor reported strong financial results for the year to end-September on Tuesday. The group found itself back in the black, posting a profit before tax of R3.7bn, marking a turnaround from a restated loss of R502m in the previous financial year. Net profit for the year came in at R2.08bn, compared to a loss of R1.29bn last year.
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