Pepkor's PEP added 38 new stores in the six months to March 31, 2026, reaching a footprint of 2,725.
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Pepkor continued to strongly grow its financial services businesses and expand its store base in the six months to March 31 as it commences the building of a bank in South Africa.
The group, which owns the Pep, Ackermans and OK Furniture brands, said in its results for the six months to March 31 it had acquired regulatory approval, subject to certain conditions, from the Prudential Authority to establish a bank. A Section 16 application had also since been submitted, which is the formal application to start a bank.
The group acquired CloudBadger Technologies, which specialises in providing software solutions for banks, in October 2025, to help build a bank, said Pepkor CEO Pieter Wrasmus said Tuesday. The bank is currently under the codename “plusb.”
Pepkor has 6,657 retail stores across its brands and opened 89 new stores and added 541 through acquisitions in the six months to March 31.
Pepkor’s newly defined Financial Services segment delivered standout growth in the six-months, with revenue up 41.6% to R3 billion and operating profit higher by 63.4% to R691 million.
FoneYam activated 1.3 million cellular rental accounts, up by 32% increase,, taking the active base to 2.4 million.
Abacus insurance revenue more than doubled to R718m as the business expanded offerings across group brands. Funeral cover sold insurance protection to more than 1,3 million lives.
Short-term credit provider Capfin grew its active loan base to 378,000 loans, with the gross credit book increasing to R5,3bn.
The Informal Market Platform segment, anchored by Flash, increased throughput by 20.3% to R34.7bn. Flash ended with 176,000 active traders and 79,000 acquiring devices in the Trader division, driving a 28% increase in tapped value.
.Group half year revenue increased 13.2% to R54.8bn, while normalised headline earnings per share (HEPS) increased by 12,1%. Operating profit grew by 9.4% to R6,3bn.
“We continue to expand our scalable, retail-powered consumer platform, extending our reach through financial services and the informal market - serving customer needs from babywear to banking,” said Erasmus.
Retail Platform sales growth accelerated to 12% in the second quarter from 10.6% in the first quarter.
Pepkor’s Retail Platform, spanning the Clothing and General Merchandise and Furniture, Appliances, and Electronics segments, increased sales by 11.2%, with like-for-like sales up 3.6% off a prior-year base of 7.9%. On a two-year basis, like-for-like sales grew by 5.7%.
PEP increased sales by 6.3%, with like-for-like growth of 4.3%, and expanded market share in Babies, Kids, Adult, and Home. The brand added 38 new stores, reaching a total of 2,725, while PEP Home reached 483 stores and launched online in October 2025.
PEP sold 4.9 million handsets and activated 750,000 FoneYam accounts, an increase of 42%. PEP Home was launched online, followed by schoolwear, and 30,000 online orders were completed.
Ackermans grew sales by 1.3%, with like-for-like sales declining 0.5% off a high prior-year base of 9.6%, facing challenges in seasonal transition, a shift away from lay-bys, and product execution issues in Babies and Kids.
Despite this, the brand claimed market share gains in schoolwear and footwear, and online sales grew by 72%.
The Speciality division increased sales by 49.1%, inflated by the Legit, Swagga, and Style acquisitions (474 stores). Like-for-like sales increased by 5.1%, and market share was expanded in adult wear.
Choice Clothing, Pepkor’s entry into the off-price segment, gained traction, with 15 new stores opened.
In the Furniture, Appliances, and Electronics segment, Lifestyle grew sales by 13.9%, with online sales up 20%.
The acquisition of OK Furniture and House & Home added 67 stores outside South Africa. Implementation of the South African component of the transaction has been delayed pending review by competition authorities and intervention by a competitor.
Internationally, Avenida (Brazil) recovered strongly, with like-for-like sales up 10.3% in constant currency. PEP Africa grew sales by 8.7% in constant currency.
Erasmus said trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in the short term.
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