Discount retailer Pepkor first quarter sales up 6.5% on store expansion (updated)

Ackermans & Van Haaren NV

30/01/2023 11:02

(Adds details)
       JOHANNESBURG, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Pepkor Holdings
 PPHJ.J , owner of South African clothing brands PEP and
Ackermans, reported a 6.5% rise in first quarter revenue on
Monday, helped by 132 new stores that it opened in the period
and the acquisition of Brazilian retailer Avenida.
        But its like-for-like sales were hit by power cuts.
  
        Retailers in South Africa have been hit not only by
inflationary pressure on consumers, but also by rolling power
cuts forcing retailers to pay more for back up power supply.
  
        "The impact of load shedding (power cuts) was more
pronounced in the rural and deeper outlying areas where the
group's retail footprint has higher representation," Pepkor
said.
  
        However, more than two-thirds of its stores were able to
trade during electricity disruptions by using back-up power, it
said, but added that the company still saw a 221% increase in
loss of trading hours in the first quarter ended Dec. 31,
compared with the same quarter in 2021.
  
        This month, upmarket clothing retailer 
    Truworths
      TRUJ.J  and value retailer 
    Mr Price
      MRPJ.J  also saw a loss of business due to incessant power
disruption in South Africa. 
  
    Pepkor, majority-owned by Steinhoff International Holdings
 SNHJ.J , said group revenue in the quarter rose to 24.3 billion
rand ($1.41 billion).
        Pepkor's group merchandise sales for its retail
segments, which include clothing, general merchandise,
furniture, appliances, electronics and building materials,
increased by 7.7%, while like-for-like group sales fell by 1.4%.
  
        Like-for-like sales excludes the newly-acquired Avenida
business.
  
        While sales of clothing and general merchandise,
Pepkor's biggest business, increased by 10.2%, partly helped by
cash-strapped shoppers buying clothes and homeware at its PEP
discount stores, same store sales decreased by 1.5%.
  
($1 = 17.2760 rand)
 (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla
Editing by Promit Mukherjee and Louise Heavens)
 ((nqobile.dludla@thomsonreuters.com; +27103461066;))