Pepkor appears to have been a net beneficiary of Covid-19 as consumers continue to shop down while strong demand for electronics and furniture has made up for softer growth in apparel after the school year got off to a later start due to the second wave of the pandemic.
While it had to deal with restrictions imposed to deal with the second wave of Covid-19, a trading update for the six months to 31 March shows sales of clothing and general merchandise still increased by 8.1% to R26.3-billion, supported by strong performances at Pep and Ackermans. While Covid-19 may have held back sales growth in its clothing and apparel divisions, it boosted demand for furniture, appliances and electronics as consumers continued to upgrade technology and bought more furniture and appliances. Revenue at its JD Group division, which includes a number of furniture chains as well as HiFi Corp and Incredible Connection, jumped 12.8% to R5.7-billion.
Excluding The Building Company, revenue from continuing operations rose by 8.1% to R36.5-billion. That was despite the comparative base period a year earlier largely falling before the outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns in South Africa.
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