Pep is a multinational retail company based in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa. Founded in 1965, Pep operated in 11 countries in Southern Africa with the opening of an outlet in
Lobito
Lobito is a Municipalities of Angola, municipality in Angola. It is located in Benguela Province, on the Atlantic Coast north of the Catumbela Estuary. The Lobito municipality had a population of 393,079 in 2014.
History
The city was founded in ...
, Angola in November 2008.
As of November 2009, the company reported over 1400 stores in operation, with total employment equalling 14,000 employees. It also owns and runs the largest clothing factory in southern Africa, where it manufactures much of its clothing.
Pep's target market is the mass lower- to middle-income end of the market. As such it seeks to sell low-cost clothes and is the largest single-brand retailer in South Africa. Pep is a subsidiary of
Pepkor
Pepkor is a South African-based investment and holding company with business interests in Africa, Australia and Eastern Europe. It manages a portfolio of retail chains focused on the value market selling predominantly clothing, footwear and text ...
.
History
In 1971,
Whitey Basson
James Wellwood ‘Whitey’ Basson (born 8 January 1946) is a South African businessman and billionaire who was largely responsible for growing a small business called Shoprite from an 8-store chain valued at R1 million into an internationa ...
was approached by Renier van Rooyen to become the financial director of the retail clothing chain that van Rooyen had founded called Pep Stores Ltd (or as it was locally known "Pep"). Van Rooyen was planning to list the company on the
JSE as ''Pepkor''.
Basson agreed to join the company as financial director and in 1974 became head of operations.
By 1981, Pep had grown to 500 stores, 10 factories, 12 000 employees and a turnover of close to R300 million.
At this point
Christo Wiese
Christoffel F. Hendrik Wiese (born 10 September 1941) is a South African businessman and former billionaire. His source of wealth is consumer retail. bought out van Rooyen's holdings in Pepkor and became the major shareholder.
Wiese became the chairman of Pepkor.
In 2014 Wiese sold Pepkor to
Steinhoff International
Steinhoff International is a multinational holding company that is dual listed in Germany and South Africa. Its holdings are in the retail sector, primarily in furniture and household goods, and include a controlling stake in South Africa's P ...
in exchange for about 20% of Steinhoff's issued shares.
References
{{reflist, 30em, refs=
[{{cite web , title=COVER STORY: Whitey Basson , website=Accountancy SA , date=30 November 2016 , url=https://www.accountancysa.org.za/whitey-basson-shining-south-african-role-model-manages-by-embarrassment/ , access-date=19 November 2019]
[{{cite web , title=PEP Stores :: Our leaders , website=pepstores.com , date=5 January 2009 , url=http://www.pepstores.com/cms/view/content/about_our_leaders , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105170008/http://www.pepstores.com/cms/view/content/about_our_leaders , archive-date=5 January 2009 , url-status=dead , access-date=22 November 2019]
[{{cite web , title=PEP Stores :: Looking and feeling good , website=pepstores.com , date=5 January 2009 , url=http://www.pepstores.com/cms/view/content/about_looking_and_feeling_good , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105175918/http://www.pepstores.com/cms/view/content/about_looking_and_feeling_good , archive-date=5 January 2009 , url-status=dead , access-date=22 November 2019]
[{{cite AV media , first=Bruce, last=Whitfield, title=Meet Whitey Basson - the retail genius behind the rise of Shoprite , website=702 , url=http://www.702.co.za/articles/282989/whitey-transcript , accessdate=21 November 2019, format=radio show transcript]
[{{cite web , title=PEP eyes fast-growing Angolan market - SouthAfrica.info , website=southafrica.info , date=10 November 2008 , url=http://www.southafrica.info/africa/pep-061108.htm , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081110111331/http://www.southafrica.info/africa/pep-061108.htm , archive-date=10 November 2008 , url-status=dead , access-date=22 November 2019]
[{{cite web , last=Motsoeneng , first=Tiisetso , title=Steinhoff ex-chair Christo Wiese open to talks over $4bn claim , website=BusinessLIVE , date=18 March 2019 , url=https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/retail-and-consumer/2019-03-18-steinhoff-ex-chair-christo-wiese-open-to-talks-over-4bn-claim/ , access-date=21 November 2019]
[{{cite news , title=Life of Pep Stores founder Renier van Rooyen was a classic rags-to-riches story , url=https://www.fin24.com/Entrepreneurs/News/life-of-pep-stores-founder-renier-van-rooyen-was-a-classic-rags-to-riches-story-20181110 , accessdate=21 November 2019 , work=Fin24.com , publisher=Naspers , date=10 November 2018]
Retail companies established in 1965
Companies based in Cape Town