The two men who started South Africa’s most popular affordable clothing store

·19 Jun 2025

The Mr Price Group has grown dramatically since its founding in October 1985 by Laurie Chiappini and Stewart Cohen when they opened the first store in Klerksdorp.

Mr Price’s roots lay in the JSE-listed retailer John Orr Holdings. Chiappini and Cohen acquired a significant shareholding in John Orr Holdings in 1986.

Although Mr Price initially operated on a franchise model, acquiring John Orr Holdings, which owned the Milady’s and The Hub fashion chains, allowed it to expand rapidly.

“Our driving passion was to make fashionable offerings more accessible to South Africans at competitively low prices,” said Cohen.

“We also aimed to do business differently and better. We aspired to build a business driven by the values of passion, partnership, and value – where ordinary people could accomplish extraordinary things.”

An important early decision was to open group-owned Mr Price Factory Shops, and the group then acquired the rights and trademark to the Mr Price brand.

The first group-owned store was opened in 1987 in an old Baumanns biscuit warehouse in Brickhill Road in Durban.

In the following years, the group acquired several trading operations from franchisees, which became known as Speciality Stores. By the end of 1990, there were 19 Mr Price Factory Shops.

In 1991, when Speciality Stores was threatened with takeover by another major retail group, the co-founders acquired control of the group from the BoE and thwarted the takeover bid.

The business would change from its factory model to focus on casualwear products like jeans and T-shirts, which also led to a change in the branding position.

In 1991, the group had a collective store count of 171. In 1996, it entered the homeware sector via the acquisition of Sheet, with its store count growing rapidly to over 458.

Between 1998 and 2007, Mr Price Home, Mr Price Sport and Mr Price Money were launched, reaching 1,000 stores in 2013.

Outside of its store base, Mr Price.com was also launched in 2012, opening the door to omnichannel shopping.

The group further expanded into tech as it became a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) with the launch of Mr Price Mobile in 2014.

A year later, the group launched Mr Price Cellular, which extended the company’s offerings to include handsets and accessories across its networks.

Huge expansion this decade

The group has seen a massive expansion over the last couple of years. In mid-2021, the group positioned itself for accelerated expansion.

The group’s store footprint rose from 1,400 to 3,000 today, fuelled by key strategic acquisitions and continuous investment in existing brands.

In 2021, the group purchased Yuppiechef and Power Fashion, broadening itself into homeware and price-value apparel offerings.

In 2023, the group acquired Studio 88, expanding its offerings into the apparel aspirational value segment. The group also opened its new Mr Price Kids and Mr Price Kids standalone stores in the period.

Mr Price’s recent performance has seen the retailer’s share price grow by over 30% over the last year to R62 billion.

In its financial results for the year ended March 2025, the group’s total revenue increased by 7.9% to R40.9 billion, gaining half a percentage point of market share.

The group’s gross margin grew to 40.5%, while its operating profit reached a record high of R5.8 billion.

Basic and headline earnings per share of 1,416.3 cents and 1,424.0 cents were up 11.0% and 10.7%, respectively.

The group’s final dividend increased by 12.7% to 593,5 cents per share over the period.

“Our three acquisitions in recent years have delivered a combined operating profit of R1.2 billion in FY2025 and continue to be earnings accretive,” said Group CEO Mark Blair.

“Our focused research is ongoing to identify the next growth vehicle that will support the achievement of our long-term vision.”