Pepkor Wins Conditional Approval to Acquire Retailability Stores

PRETORIA — 1 June 2024

The Competition Tribunal has approved retail giant Pepkor’s takeover of over 460 clothing and homeware stores across Southern Africa, imposing strict conditions to protect jobs and suppliers.

Pepkor will absorb Retailability brands Legit, Style, Swagga (with Beaver Canoe), and Boardmans into its Speciality division (Competition Tribunal). This division already includes chains like Tekkie Town and Shoe City.

Approval requires no retrenchments related to the merger and maintains existing employment terms for all workers (Competition Tribunal). Edgars, Edgars Beauty, Red Square, Kelso, and Keedo remain with Retailability and were excluded from the deal (merger terms).

Pepkor—South Africa’s largest clothing retailer with more than 5,800 stores in 10 African countries—will use Legit to boost adult fashion offerings and Boardmans to expand homeware (source not provided).