South African clothing retailer comparison – Mr Price, The Foschini Group, and Pepkor

South African clothing retailers have had a tough year with poor economic growth, high interest rates, and high unemployment.

The share prices of prominent clothing retailers listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) all declined this year.

However, one retailer, Pepkor, weathered the storm better than most of its peers, including Mr Price and The Foschini Group.

Renier van Rooyen started Pepkor in the 1960s with no business experience or capital. The company focused on the lower end of the South African market.

Other retailers overlooked this market segment during the Apartheid era, which provided a newcomer with an opportunity.

The bet on this underserved market paid off handsomely. Today, Pepkor has the largest retail store footprint in Southern Africa.

It owns many of South Africa’s most well-known brands, including Pep, Ackermans, Tekkie Town, Refinery, Rochester, HiFiCorp, Incredible Connection and Shoe City.

Pepkor has 5,900 stores in nine African countries, oversees 2 billion transactions, and has 30 million identifiable customers.

Earlier this year, Pepkor was given the green light to add five new brands to its stable: Legit, Style, Boardman, Swagga and Beaver Canoe.

Pepkor, through its subsidiary Pepkor Trading, will buy these brands for around R2 billion as the retailer looks to expand its share in the adultwear market.

This transaction will add significant additional scale to Pepkor’s Speciality business unit and expand its product offering in the adult market.

Many analysts are upbeat about Pepkor’s prospects, which explains why its share price has outperformed its peers.

Shane Watkins from All Weather Capital said Pepkor is an established company with a proven track record of growth.

“Pepkor is growing both its revenue and profitability, which is impressive in an economy which is growing slowly,” he said.

He added that Pepkor CEO Pieter Erasmus bought R1.6 billion in the company’s shares, which shows his belief in the company.

“I like Pepkor’s business model. I like the management team. If the CEO is prepared to put his money in the company, so am I,” he said.

The tables and chart below provide an overview of the performance of South African clothing retailers in 2025.

Share price performance in 2025