Edcon Holdings has signed a purchase agreement that will see it sell parts of South African clothing chain Edgars to rival Retailability.<\/p>\n
Retailability is a retail fashion holding company of retail brands including Legit, Beaver Canoe, and Style, operating in over 460 stores across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and eSwatini.<\/p>\n
“The signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement is a positive step forward in meeting the objectives of the Edcon business rescue plan, which when successfully concluded, will result in the saving of a significant number of jobs and the continuation of a great iconic Edgars brand,” said the group’s Business Rescue Practitioners.<\/p>\n
The closing of the transaction is targeted for September 2020 and is still subject to various conditions precedent and regulatory approvals, including the competition authorities.<\/p>\n
The parties will now move to work on preparing the signing of the sale and purchase agreements for the Edgars business conducted in the rest of Africa.<\/p>\n
Edcon was placed under business rescue in late April, after a five-week strict lockdown to contain the coronavirus in South Africa wiped out sales and curtailed a recovery from a 2019 restructuring.<\/p>\n
Edgars was put up for sale alongside sister chains Jet – which specialises in low-cost clothing – and Thank U, a finance and loyalty-card unit.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, The Foschini Group reached an agreement with Edcon to acquire some of Jet’s assets, while the Thank U accounts are still managed by microlender RCS, after acquiring the portfolio from Absa in 2019.<\/p>\n
The company as a whole employs almost 18,000 permanent workers and hires about 5,000 more on a seasonal basis.<\/p>\n
Retailability, based in Durban, has backers including Johannesburg-based Metier Private Equity. The company bought the fashion chain Legit from Edcon four years ago.<\/p>\n