Edgars is a

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

-based chain of stores present all over

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. The

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

was previously selling clothing, shoes, homeware & beauty and under new leadership has recently shifted its focus to mass-market fashion and beauty products. The chain had just around 200 stores, with multiple locations in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

and

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

as well as in the capital cities of

eSwatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

(Swaziland),

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

, and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

when it was sold to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

based, private fashion company Retailability in 2020.

History

Edgars was founded in

in 1929. As part of Edcon, Edgars was included in an ill-fated buyout by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital Private Equity LP in 2007, which burdened the parent company with debt just as the economy hit a downturn following the global financial crisis. In 2014 Edgars opened at a new 50,000 square meter shopping centre in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. In 2018 Edgars introduced a new, larger 8,000 square meter store in

Fourways Mall Fourways Mall is a shopping mall in South Africa located in the Fourways area of Sandton, in suburban Johannesburg. It doubled its size, from 85,000m² to 178,000m², relaunching in 2019 The shopping mall consists of over 400 stores, a two-level ...

in Johannesburg, featuring trees, play areas, a coffee shop, “beauty rooms” where customers can get makeovers, and a section that allows customers to print their own text or images on clothing. Edgars promoted the new prototype store design as "a bit like a town square, a multi-sensory, tree-lined central social space". In January 2020 it announced it would close its 6,000 square meter store in the upscale Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg suburb Rosebank. In September 2020 In June 2020 Edcon put the chain up for sale due to economic difficulties stemming from the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. 7 July 2020 it was announced that Edcon has signed an agreement to sell the chain to

-based Retailability, which operates 460 stores across Southern Africa and is the owner of brands Legit, which Edcon had sold to Retailability four years prior, Beaver Canoe, and Style. Retailability acquired 130 of 194 Edgars stores. In September of the same year, the company under the new leadership announced to be repositioning Edgars as a mass market brand focused on fashion and beauty products, shifting from its previous homeware portfolio.

Corporate affairs

Organizational structure

Edgars Stores Limited is a separate company operating the businesses in Zimbabwe: Edgars and Jet department stores, as well as Edgars Financial Services and Carousel, its

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

-based manufacturing arm.

In Zimbabwe

Edgars entered the

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

(now

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

) market in 1946. It was listed on the Southern Rhodesian Stock Exchange, now the

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, or ZSE, is the official stock exchange of Zimbabwe. Its history dates back to 1896 but has only been open to foreign investment since 1993. The exchange has about a dozen members, and currently lists 63 equities. The ...

in 1974. in 2011 it opened a new store in Joina Centre mall in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

. A store opened in Kadoma in 2019. There are four Edgars-branded stores in

ZB Centre ZB or Zb may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Monarch Airlines (IATA code ZB) * Zbrojovka Brno, a former Czechoslovakian state producer of small weapons and munitions * Zentralbahn, a Swiss railway * Zentralblatt MATH, now zbMATH, interna ...

, Westgate Shopping Centre, and

Sam Levy Village Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictio ...

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' t ...

, Robert Mugabe at Angwa, as well as a store in

Masvingo Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is situated close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, th ...

References

{{reflist

External link

Official website"What do future department stores look like? The big question that underpins the new Edgars' Fourways store design", "Retail Design", Design Partnership website
Department stores of South Africa Retailing in Zimbabwe Retailing in Ghana Retailing in Namibia Economy of Lesotho Economy of Eswatini 1929 establishments in South Africa