Pepkor plans 250 more stores by year-end as operating profit grows 13.3%
Pepkor, the owner of Pep, Tekkie Town and Bradlows furniture stores, plans to open between 250 and 300 new stores by the end of the year.
The group recently announced a number of acquisitions including Legit, Style and Boardmans from Retailability. It also bought House & Home furniture from Shoprite.
On Tuesday the company reported a 12.8% rise in revenue to R48.8bn for the six months to March, while operating profit grew by 13.3% to R5.8bn.
Pepkor's traditional retail businesses delivered a strong trading performance, outperforming the market and expanding market share.
The clothing and general merchandise segments, which includes Ackermans, reported a 9.5% increase in sales to R34.5bn. The furniture, appliances and electronics segment, which also includes HiFi Corp and Incredible, reported a 9.1% rise in sales to R6.5bn.
Pepkor also provides loans, store credit and leasing of cellphones. The segment — fintech — reported revenue growth of 34.5% to R7.9bn.
The company said it sold 6.8-million cellphones, up 17%, during the six months to March. Eight out of 10 prepaid handset sales in South Africa are sold by Pepkor companies.
'Combined with the group's expansive store network as a powerful distribution channel, Pepkor has cemented its position as the clear leader in the cellular market, backed by a differentiated and highly resilient strategy,' it said.
FoneYam, the cellular handset rental product launched last year and designed to make smartphones affordable for customers, continued to grow strongly with active customers reaching 1.5-million by the end of March.
Monthly activations averaged 165,000 over the period, said Pepkor.
CEO Pieter Erasmus said: 'We have delivered consistent retail performance, strategically executed on our fintech growth ambitions and maintained disciplined cost management. Our focus on digital and financial inclusion yields tangible benefits for our customers and the group's performance.'
Erasmus said the company was particularly pleased with the progress in its fintech segment and its expanding cellular market share, which are becoming increasingly significant contributors to its overall success.
'Strategic acquisitions announced will further diversify our offering into new customer segments and product categories — positioning Pepkor for sustained growth and value creation.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
5 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Pepkor plans 250 more stores by year-end as operating profit grows 13.3%
Pepkor, the owner of Pep, Tekkie Town and Bradlows furniture stores, plans to open between 250 and 300 new stores by the end of the year. The group recently announced a number of acquisitions including Legit, Style and Boardmans from Retailability. It also bought House & Home furniture from Shoprite. On Tuesday the company reported a 12.8% rise in revenue to R48.8bn for the six months to March, while operating profit grew by 13.3% to R5.8bn. Pepkor's traditional retail businesses delivered a strong trading performance, outperforming the market and expanding market share. The clothing and general merchandise segments, which includes Ackermans, reported a 9.5% increase in sales to R34.5bn. The furniture, appliances and electronics segment, which also includes HiFi Corp and Incredible, reported a 9.1% rise in sales to R6.5bn. Pepkor also provides loans, store credit and leasing of cellphones. The segment — fintech — reported revenue growth of 34.5% to R7.9bn. The company said it sold 6.8-million cellphones, up 17%, during the six months to March. Eight out of 10 prepaid handset sales in South Africa are sold by Pepkor companies. 'Combined with the group's expansive store network as a powerful distribution channel, Pepkor has cemented its position as the clear leader in the cellular market, backed by a differentiated and highly resilient strategy,' it said. FoneYam, the cellular handset rental product launched last year and designed to make smartphones affordable for customers, continued to grow strongly with active customers reaching 1.5-million by the end of March. Monthly activations averaged 165,000 over the period, said Pepkor. CEO Pieter Erasmus said: 'We have delivered consistent retail performance, strategically executed on our fintech growth ambitions and maintained disciplined cost management. Our focus on digital and financial inclusion yields tangible benefits for our customers and the group's performance.' Erasmus said the company was particularly pleased with the progress in its fintech segment and its expanding cellular market share, which are becoming increasingly significant contributors to its overall success. 'Strategic acquisitions announced will further diversify our offering into new customer segments and product categories — positioning Pepkor for sustained growth and value creation.'
Daily Maverick
19-05-2025
- Daily Maverick
Warp brings SA's AI industry up to speed with Xibon AI acquisition
It takes guts to pivot. But in a rapidly shifting tech landscape, that's exactly what one South African-founded tech company is doing — snapping up machine learning expertise and building its own private cloud infrastructure from the ground up. The SA-founded tech company Warp Development has made a strategic pivot to embrace the private cloud trend, and its acquisition of the machine learning startup Xibon AI and new infrastructure will fuel its global expansion. Warp's first big move was acquiring Xibon AI. For co-founder Adriën Erasmus, this wasn't just about staying current and on trend. It was essential. 'Everybody needs to implement AI into their businesses,' said Erasmus. Rather than building from scratch, he opted for 'a bit of a hack … to get to market quickly and gain a customer base immediately'. The scent of opportunity The deal came together after a collaboration with Mike Scott — the former CEO of Cape Town-based Nona Digital — who now heads up operations in Australia. Through that relationship, the company acquired Xibon and its co-founder Gaurav Devsarmah, who now leads AI strategy and solutions. 'It was a no-brainer,' said Erasmus. 'Finding that kind of talent would've been a stretch. AI is still new, and people with real depth of experience are rare. Gaurav's knowledge of the frameworks is next level.' Claiming the SuperBrain Xibon's crown jewel is SuperBrain, a platform that stitches together multiple layers of data to build highly contextual, personalised AI solutions. It doesn't just process info — it learns how different pieces connect to give users intelligent, tailored outcomes. Devsarmah describes it simply: 'The more info I record, the more context the SuperBrain starts to form.' That tech has now become a core part of the company's plan to embed machine learning into every unit of the business. More humans, not fewer The team sees AI not as a replacement for people, but as a tool to remove monotony and unleash more creative thinking. AI might reduce the need for manual effort, Erasmus admits, but 'there will always be a need for humans'. The focus is on efficiency, freeing up time for strategic work and modernising legacy systems. Backed by a team of more than 100 in South Africa, the strategy combines acquisitions, traditional hiring and upskilling, including support for master's degrees in AI. Rewriting the cloud playbook Equally ambitious is the company's pivot away from public cloud giants like AWS and Azure. Three years ago, it committed to building its own private cloud, cutting infrastructure costs by up to 60% along the way. Warp's chief technology officer and co-founder, Rudi Mostert, said the goal was to match the scalability and resilience of the public cloud while ditching the unpredictable billing and restrictive architecture. They went with OpenStack — open source, well-documented and already in use at major enterprises like Walmart and Deutsche Telekom — and partnered with OpenMetal to make it happen. So why private cloud? It's a trend gaining traction, especially among companies looking for more control and less vendor lock-in. Private cloud lets you build only what you need, customise everything and avoid the ever-rising costs of public platforms. OpenMetal made it easy to spin up that infrastructure quickly and securely. And because the company owns all of it, there's no need to pay for bloated extras or worry about usage surprises. Plus, the tech teams now have more room to innovate. 'It's created massive growth opportunities,' said Mostert. 'We've got incredibly talented people here who are hungry to learn.' And why Amsterdam? That first private cloud deployment now lives in a data centre near Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. The location wasn't just convenient — it was strategic. Amsterdam offers top-tier connectivity (more than 210 network providers), renewable energy and strong data protection laws. It's also a base for other South African-rooted players like Prosus (via Naspers) and BCX. The AMS3 facility also provides redundancy and availability guarantees, giving the setup the kind of reliability needed for global operations. While the Netherlands has placed restrictions on new data centre builds, this deployment focused on leveraging existing infrastructure — no permits or delays required. Eyes on the world With infrastructure in place, the company is expanding fast — it's now registered in Australia and has a satellite office in Atlanta, Georgia. Erasmus says the US market moves faster and more decisively than Europe. 'Build trust there and you'll have loyal customers,' he said. But speed isn't everything. 'We're not competing on being cheap or fast. We're positioning as expert services.' Operations now stretch across three time zones — Asia-Pacific, South Africa and the US — allowing for round-the-clock delivery. What this means for you Private cloud is no longer just for tech giants. More companies are moving away from public cloud providers like AWS and Azure. Why? Cost control, data ownership, and the freedom to build exactly what they need, without surprise billing or vendor why Warp built its own private cloud infrastructure with OpenMetal, cutting costs by up to 60% while unlocking greater flexibility and security. Amsterdam isn't just windmills and tulips, it's a digital gateway to Europe. With its unmatched connectivity, data protection laws, and sustainable infrastructure, it's the ideal base for companies going global. It's no coincidence that other SA-rooted firms like Prosus and BCX have a presence there too. The big win? Warp's not keeping this just for international clients. They're now bringing the same world-class cloud tech to South Africa, meaning local startups and SMEs could soon get access to enterprise-grade infrastructure without paying enterprise prices. In short: better tech, more control and lower costs might soon be coming to a data centre near you. SA still at the core Despite going global, the business still runs deep in South Africa. With two SA offices and a growing team, Erasmus speaks passionately about the entrepreneurial grit of South Africans. 'People here have grit and willpower — they're like Jack Russells,' he said. 'There's a great work ethic, strong skills and a dedication that gives us an edge.' At a recent global leadership event in Hawaii, South Africa received accolades across leadership categories. And Cape Town's chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization is among the fastest-growing worldwide. Plans are already in motion to replicate the Amsterdam cloud infrastructure locally, bringing world-class cloud tech into South Africa. Big opportunity for SMEs There's also hope that smaller South African businesses can benefit too. As public cloud costs grow more unsustainable for scaling companies, Erasmus sees a 'massive opportunity' for local SMEs to explore virtual private cloud alternatives — lower cost, more predictable and tailored to their needs. Yes, the country's tax burden is high. 'We pay an awful lot of tax,' he said. But the talent, resilience, and potential in South Africa make it a great place in which to build. DM
The Citizen
02-05-2025
- The Citizen
FSCA debars financial adviser for five years, fines him R1.1 million
Nobody is allowed to act as a financial service provider and give financial advice without being registered with the FSCA. The FSCA has debarred a financial advisor and fined him R1.18 million for working as a financial services provider without being registered. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) debarred Pierre Erasmus for five years and imposed an administrative penalty that includes the cost of the FSCA's investigation. The FSCA already warned the public in November 2023 to act with caution when conducting financial services business with FX Squad, which was not registered as a company and Petrus Rasmus Erasmus, known as Pierre. In its warning the FSCA said it received information that Erasmus and FX Squad offered to trade in forex on behalf of consumers and that Erasmus and FX Squad may be conducting unregistered financial services and/or the business of a bank by taking deposits from members of the public. 'The investigated parties are not authorised to render any financial advisory and/or intermediary services in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act and are also not registered as banks in terms of the Banks Act,' the FSCA said. ALSO READ: FSCA warns consumers about investments with these unregistered entities FSCA investigation showed Erasmus collected funds like a bank The evidence collected during the FSCA's investigation showed that Erasmus offered his services and acted as a financial services provider without authorisation. The FSCA says in a statement that Erasmus collected funds from members of the public (clients) and used it to trade in contracts for difference (CFDs). According to Investopedia, a CFD is an arrangement made in financial derivatives trading where the differences in the settlement between the open and closing trade prices are cash-settled, while there is no delivery of physical goods or securities. The FSCA says he incurred substantial losses during his trading activities. Erasmus also gave financial advice to his clients by providing them with trading signals. A trade signal is a trigger to buy or sell a security and is generated by various analyses, such as technical indicators and mathematical algorithms, according to Investopedia. Many clients incurred losses when they traded in CFDs based on Erasmus' advice. The FSCA found in its investigation that Erasmus contravened section 7(1)(a) of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act in a material way. The practice of providing trading signals amounts to financial advice and that requires a financial services provider licence in terms of the FAIS Act. ALSO READ: FSCA dishes out fines for R2.1 million, R1.6 million and R200 000 How to check if someone is registered and licensed The FSCA says consumers should always check: That an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including giving recommendations about how to invest; What category of advice the person is registered to provide, as there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product and then offer advice on far more complex and risky products; and That the financial services provider (FSP) number the entity or individual offering financial services uses matches to the name of the FSP on the FSCA database. You can confirm the status and FSP number of a service provider or someone who claims to be an authorised service provider by calling the FSCA on its toll-free number at 0800 110 443. You can also do an online check for an authorised financial institution by licence category at or an online search for a financial institution that is an authorised FSP in terms of the FAIS Act at
