97-year-old South African retailer coming back to life with 50 new stores

After closing 100,000 m² worth of stores over the past three years, Edgars is finally entering an expansionary phase again.

The 97-year-old retailer plans to open 50 stores over the next two years, adding to its already sizeable 100-store-strong footprint in South Africa.

This comes after Edgars went into business rescue in 2020, having been one of the first commercial victims of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prior to this, Edgars was one of South Africa’s largest retailers, owning well-known brands like Jet and CNA.

While in business rescue, Edgars was sold to Retailability and its private-equity partner, Metier. Some of the retailer’s assets and brands had been sold to other companies.

Retailability has spent the past three years executing a rightsizing programme, which saw Edgars return 100,000 m² of space to landlords.

“That process has allowed us to create better shopping environments for customers while improving the profitability and long-term sustainability of our stores,” the company said in a press release.

Despite closing that many stores, Edgars’ physical footprint remains impressive, with more than 100 stores across South Africa. The standalone Edgars Beauty network currently operates 18 stores. 

Now, Retailability plans to expand this footprint further, with Edgars set to open 50 new stores in the next two years.

This will include traditional Edgars stores, as well as more Edgars Beauty stores, with a specific focus on expanding this segment’s presence in the Boland, including Paarl and Stellenbosch.

Retailability also announced plans to launch Edgars Connect in July 2026, which will be the brand’s first dedicated standalone cellular store.

This, the company said, will extend the retailer’s reach into a high-growth category. Retailers like Mr Price have seen notable success in their telecoms segments over the past few years.

“We made very deliberate decisions to ensure that every store is the right size for the market it serves,” Retailability CEO Norman Drieselmann said. 

“The work we have done over the past three years has paid off. While optimisation remains ongoing, we are now equally focused on growth.” 

He said the company can now bring Edgars fashion and beauty back to communities where the brand previously could not trade sustainably. 

“What we are doing now is a responsible, strategic rollout, where we know exactly where we are going and why,” he said.

“At 97 years old, this brand still has significant growth ahead of it. We see real opportunity, and we are going after it with both the respect this brand deserves and the hunger of a business that is just getting started.”