Pepkor wants to acquire the businesses to expand its market share in adult clothing.
Pepkor has announced that it has entered into a transaction agreement with Retailability to acquire the Legit, Swagga, Style and Boardmans businesses.
Retailability owns Edgars, Edgars Beauty, Red Square, Kelso and Keedo businesses. However, these are not included in the deal.
Pepkor owns Pep, Ackermans, Refinery, Bradlows and Incredible Connection among others.
Pepkor’s deal
Retailability bought Legit from Edcon before it entered business rescue and later acquired the Edgars department store chain from Edcon, boosting its existing retail business significantly.
The four businesses Pepkor is set to acquire operate 462 stores across South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini.
The group wants to acquire the businesses to expand its market share in adult clothing.
“This is based on the group’s underindexed market position in adultwear categories compared to its dominance in babies’, kids’ and school wear.
“The launch of the new Ayana womenswear brand in 32 stores at the end of February 2025 and the recent acquisition of Choice Clothing are further examples of the group’s adultwear growth strategy.”
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Expansion of store portfolio
Pepkor said the acquisition of Swagga and Style has strong synergistic benefits, expanding the group’s store portfolio and providing the opportunity to grow the group’s share in the adult wear market further.
“The Boardmans online brand, which operates in the homeware product segment, will become part of the Pepkor Lifestyle business.
“Pepkor will unlock value through its extensive scale in sourcing, supply chain and back office functions, in addition to leveraging its capabilities in credit and other financial services.”
Pepkor Speciality
Pepkor Speciality offers a range of adult apparel, footwear, and accessories across seven retail brands, including Tekkie Town, Shoe City, Dunns, Refinery, CODE, SPCC and Ayana.
Its total store base comprises 941 stores in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini.
Tyrone Vieira, CEO of Pepkor Emerging Businesses, said: “We are excited to welcome the Legit and other Retailability businesses into Pepkor Speciality, forming an integral part of our strategy to grow our market position in adult wear.
“These businesses are a natural fit for our Speciality and we look forward to integrating them and unlocking benefits from the added scale.”
