By
Reuters
Revealed
Might 28, 2025
The not too long ago launched style chain may have tons of of shops, mentioned the CEO of its proprietor Pepkor to Reuters, whereas the South African retailer factors to extra trendy prospects and adopts the quick style mannequin of some rivals.

Pepkor, the proprietor of the Report Pep and Ackermans clothes chains, is surreated within the grownup clothes market, particularly ladies’s clothes. Just lately, it expanded to that market buying style companies reminiscent of Legit, Model and Swagga.
He launched 32 Ayana shops in February by changing Discontinuous Ackerman ladies’s clothes shops. The model is extra modern than Pepkor’s central chains and goals to replace its ranges extra regularly, with some consumers who evaluate their fashion and retailer design with Zara owned by Inditex.
“This isn’t like a sequence of thousand shops. I suppose it will likely be, a few tons of whether it is actually profitable, possibly two or 300,” Pieter Erasmus, government director of Pepkor, instructed Reuters, on Tuesday.
Ayana factors to younger ladies conscious of style with their vests, mini attire and jackets with out strains “, however at an inexpensive value,” Erasmus added, in comparison with worldwide manufacturers reminiscent of H&M.
“Clients have responded effectively within the retailer, in gross sales, but in addition in social networks. So we imagine there is a chance for this model in South Africa to do once more, I don’t like to make use of this aspirational phrase (style),” he mentioned.
He added that Ayana was additionally making an attempt to make the most of prospects who “are presently shopping for some retailers (retailers like) Shein. There’s the chance to actually tackle it. So we’re going to put a terrific effort.”
Retailers solely on-line Shein and Temu have grown up shortly by sending financial merchandise on to customers, which forces native retailers to search out new methods of differentiating.
At present, Ayana obtains his actions from Asia, notably China, and regionally to reply quicker to altering traits, Erasmus mentioned.
($ 1 = 17,9112 rand)
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