Business

Retail giant in South Africa opening new stores across the country

Luke Fraser

 ·26 May 2026

Pepkor has massively expanded its store base across South Africa, with its total international store count hitting over 6,600.

In its financial results for the six months ended 31 March 2026, the group said that it reached 6,657 retail stores, with 89 new stores opened and 541 added through acquisitions.

Pepkor’s Retail Platform, which includes Clothing and General Merchandise and Furniture, Appliances and Electronics segments, increased sales by 11.2%, with like-for-like sales up 3.6%.

PEP increased sales by 6.3%, with like-for-like growth of 4.3%, and expanded its market share in Babies, Kids, Adult and Home.

PEP added 38 new stores, bringing its footprint to 2,725, while PEP Home reached 483 stores and successfully launched online in October 2025.

Ackermans grew sales by 1.3%, with like-for-like sales dropping 0.5% off a high prior-year base of 9.6%.

The retailer faced challenges during the seasonal transition, a shift away from lay-buys, and product issues in Babies and Kids. Nevertheless, the group gained market share in schoolwear and footwear.

The Speciality division increased sales by 49.1%, driven by the acquisitions of Legist, Swagga, and Style, which added 474 stores.

Like-for-like sales rose by 5.1%, and the group said it expanded market share in adultwear, excluding acquisitions.

Newly acquired Legit also outperformed expectations with 13.0% sales growth in womenswear, while CODE’s performance accelerated via Swagga store conversions.

Choice Clothing, Pepkor’s entry into the off-price segment, gained traction, with trading densities up 6.2% and 15 new stores opened, 14 of which opened in one day, expanding the footprint to 118 stores.

In the Furniture, Appliances, and Electronics segment, Lifestyle saw sales growth of 13.9%, with online sales up 20%.

The acquisition of OK Furniture and House & Home also added 67 stores outside South Africa. The South African transaction has been delayed due to reviews by competition authorities following Lewis’s objection.

Internationally, the group’s performance in Avenida, Brazil, saw a strong recovery, with like-for-like sales up 10.3% in constant currency.

PEP Africa also grew sales by 8.7% in constant currency, with like-for-like growth of 9.3%.

Financials

Overall, Pepkor reported a 13.2% increase in group revenue to R54.8 billion and 12.1% growth in normalised headline earnings per share.

When looking at total operations, earnings per share rose 9.4% to 90.9 cents per share; headline earnings per share jumped by 7.7% to 90.8 cents per share.

The group’s operating profit rose by 9.4% to R6.3 billion, while the group also expanded its retail footprint, scaled its financial services capabilities, and integrated acquisitions.

“These results reflect the strength of our business model and the disciplined execution of our strategy,” said Pepkor CEO Pieter Erasmus.

“We continue to expand our scalable, retail-powered consumer platform, extending our reach through financial services and the informal market, serving customer needs from babywear to banking.”

Erasmus added that trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in the short-term, with like-for-like sales growth of 3.7% recorded in the first eight weeks following March.

The group also remained focused on the continued expansion of the retail platform and on scaling its financial services, including its new banking services and its growth in the informal market.