{"id":880005,"date":"2026-10-15T14:18:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=880005"},"modified":"2026-10-15T14:18:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:18:54","slug":"iconic-store-making-a-comeback-after-closing-its-doors-8-years-ago-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/880005\/iconic-store-making-a-comeback-after-closing-its-doors-8-years-ago-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Iconic store making a comeback after closing its doors 8 years ago in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South African homeware retailer Boardmans is returning to physical stores nearly eight years after its nationwide closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means South Africans can now shop for Boardmans’ furniture, bedding, appliances, and homeware in-store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pepkor Lifestyle announced that Boardmans had returned to physical retail as of 5 October 2026, with seven existing group stores being rebranded. Further openings are planned as the retailer expands its presence across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move marks a new phase for a brand that many South Africans thought had disappeared for good when its stores closed in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under its new offering, Boardmans will combine furniture, homeware, bedding, kitchen products, appliances and other household essentials in one shopping destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The retailer will also introduce televisions, audio equipment, and home technology through a partnership with Incredible, the South African technology retailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnder the brand promise, \u2018Every home starts at Boardmans\u2019, the retailer aims to simplify the homemaking journey,\u201d Pepkor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company said the expanded range would allow customers to shop for multiple rooms and everyday household needs in one place, while providing a physical environment in which to explore products and find inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers will have access to credit, store accounts and lay-by payment options, as well as promotional deals through the retailer’s +more rewards programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revival also includes bringing Boardmans’ online operations together with Rochester, Pepkor’s furniture retailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of 5 October, customers visiting Rochester.co.za will be redirected to a dedicated Rochester section within Boardmans.co.za.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will incorporate Rochester’s premium furniture collections into the broader online catalogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Rochester’s physical footprint will remain unchanged. All 38 existing stores will continue operating, with customers retaining access to its furniture range and an expanded digital catalogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boardmans began as a hardware store called Sam Newman’s before Tom Boardman bought two retail outlets in Cape Town in November 1982.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revival <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pick n Pay became a financial partner in the early 1990s before acquiring the entire business. Under its ownership, Boardmans grew to 26 stores nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2003, Edcon bought the retailer from Pick n Pay for R94 million. At the time, Boardmans specialised in kitchenware, furniture and outdoor products, generating annual turnover of R211 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Edcon chief executive Steve Ross said the acquisition supported the group’s strategy of expanding into non-food retail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the brand’s fortunes changed as Edcon faced mounting financial pressure and sought to restructure its operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, former Edcon chief executive Grant Pattison announced plans to close Boardmans and introduce Edgars Home as a replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than operating as a standalone retailer, the new homeware offering was incorporated into Edgars department stores in shopping malls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closure formed part of Edcon’s contentious turnaround strategy, bringing an end to Boardmans’ physical store network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, the brand was transferred to Retailability, a Durban-based retail group that acquired parts of Edcon’s Edgars business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retailability’s portfolio includes Edgars, Legit, Beaver Canoe, Style and Keedo, with a network of approximately 600 stores across Southern Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boardmans eventually returned in 2023, initially as an online-only retailer. Its latest relaunch represents an expansion of that comeback, with the brand once again entering physical retail while broadening its online offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strategy places Boardmans in a market where established retailers compete for household spending across furniture, appliances and homeware, while customers increasingly expect to browse and purchase products both online and in stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By combining its own homeware range with Rochester furniture and Incredible’s technology offering, Pepkor is positioning Boardmans as a broader home-shopping destination rather than a specialist kitchenware or furniture retailer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South African homeware retailer Boardmans is returning to physical stores nearly eight years after its nationwide closure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":880008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"failed","_sma_x_autopost_error":"Instagram publishing failed: Instagram returned HTTP 400: Media ID is not available","_sma_x_post_id":"2110707269008539711","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2238005490353183","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[4713,4076,853],"class_list":["post-880005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-boardmans","tag-pepkor","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880005"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":880014,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880005\/revisions\/880014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/880008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}