Cape Town-based retail giant Pepkor has announced its intention to purchase the Legit, Swagga, Style and Boardmans businesses from Retailability for approximately R1.9 billion in cash.

Retailability is a Durban-based company that bought Legit from Edcon before it (Legit) entered business rescue, Retailability later purchased the Edgars department store chain from Edcon and during this time period, I casually wrote a blog about it on iFashion, that sale and purchase boosted its existing retail business significantly well.

A successful acquisition of the Legit, Swagga, Style, retailers a month after launching Ayana, and 4 months after the acquisition of Choice Clothing will significantly enhance Pepkor’s presence in the adultwear market.

The deal includes 462 stores across South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Eswatini. This acquisition aligns with Pepkor’s strategy to expand its market share in adult apparel, a category where many assume it has been underrepresented. It is, however, a catagory I aim to argue that they have silently dominated for years within the 1-4 LSM segmentation.

With this acquisition, the company aims to leverage its extensive supply chain and financial services capabilities to enhance these brands.