Naspers officially shuts 5 e-commerce sites

 ·26 Feb 2014
Naspers websites

MIH Internet Africa (MIHIA), a subsidiary of the Naspers group, says it will restructure its operations in order to focus specifically on its general e-tail businesses such as Kalahari.

The Internet arm of Naspers in Africa, MIHIA has confirmed that it will close “some small businesses which are no longer core”, namely Style36, 5Rooms, Kinderelo, SA Camera and 5Ounces.

  • 5ounces is an online retailer offering deals on wines, craft beers, gourmet foods and the like;
  • Style36Buy is an online fashion store selling women’s and men’s fashion, footwear, clothes and accessories;
  • 5Rooms is an online furniture home decor store selling furniture, homeware, lighting, and appliances;
  • Kinderelo is an online retailer selling baby clothing, toddler toys, maternity wear, baby toys, kids furniture and clothes;
  • SA Camera is an online retailer for cameras.

This, Naspers said, follows consultation with staff and after reviewing all options.

“This decision is based purely on a shift in strategy and was not performance related,” it said.

The group stressed that this process is limited to the MIHIA group and does not affect other Naspers subsidiaries with e-commerce investments in Africa, such as Media24, which continues to focus on fashion e-commerce.

“Media24 will continue to leverage its magazine titles to drive e-commerce activity, especially through fast-growing fashion vertical Spree, and is planning to expand substantially in this area,” Naspers said.

The internet firm said that plans to grow Kalahari  aggressively over the next year.

“Kalahari had a very strong Christmas and has just introduced an advanced platform successfully. The restructuring will allow the group to dedicate more resources to this exciting area of growth, building out stronger platforms and offering better services,” it said.

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