South African retail group Edcon said on Monday it would acquire Elixir Marketing for an undisclosed amount, boosting its plans to dominate in discount and enhance its exposure to over 20-million consumers.
Elixir Marketing, which trades as ”Super Mart”, is a discount general merchandise cash retailer that serves middle and lower income earners in seven locations, most of them in Gauteng, the country’s richest province.
An initial amount of R70-million will be paid, followed by further amounts payable on an earn-out basis over the next three years, Edcon said in a statement.
”Super Mart complements our United Retail offering and provides synergies in areas such as marketing, procurement, real estate and other group services for both Super Mart and Edcon,” Edcon CEO Steve Ross said.
United Retail — which houses outlets such as Jet, Sales House, Cuthberts and Smileys — represents about 10% of South Africa’s apparel and footwear market.
The agreement is subject to due diligence and Competition Board approval, Edcon said.
Last month, the group announced that it had reached an agreement with liquidators of troubled Retail Apparel Group to buy a portion of its debtors book and an unspecified number of stores for R200-million. – Reuters