What Retailability Proprietary does

Retailability (PTY) Ltd is a South African multi-brand apparel retailer founded in 1984 and headquartered in Durban (La Lucia). As of 2026, the group operates two core retail brands: Edgars, a family-focused department-store-style chain offering Ladies', Men's and Kids Apparel, Footwear, Accessories and Beauty across 135 stores in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini; and Keedo, a 12-store South African specialty retailer of functional and fashionable designer children's clothing. Prior to 2025 the group also owned Legit, Style, Boardmans, and Swagga, which were divested to Pepkor following Competition Tribunal approval, leaving Retailability as a focused two-brand operator. The business runs an omnichannel model combining physical retail with branded e-commerce storefronts (retailability.co.za, keedo.co.za, Boardmans Online Shopping) and has integrated the PayJustNow Buy Now Pay Later payment option into Edgars, where BNPL has grown to approximately 10% of sales mix at a ~40% three-year CAGR.

The company's revenue model is primarily traditional retail merchandise sales through owned physical stores and direct e-commerce channels, with an emerging transaction-fee-style BNPL revenue layer through its PayJustNow partnership. Retailability serves mass-market Southern African consumers seeking affordable, authentic fashion across multiple demographics, using a horizontal segmentation approach spanning women, men, and children. Underlying technology is a standard retail point-of-sale and e-commerce platform stack; no proprietary AI, ML, or data systems are disclosed. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies by category, brand, and item. Financially, the group has been private throughout its history, raised approximately $7.67 million in a 2017 growth equity round led by Metier Private Equity with KfW DEG participation, and is led by CEO Norman Drieselmann.

Name

Retailability Proprietary

Legal name

Retailability (PTY) Ltd

Website

https://retailability.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Retailability is a South African multi-brand apparel retailer founded in 1984, operating 135 Edgars stores across five Southern African countries and 12 Keedo children's apparel stores in South Africa through omnichannel physical and e-commerce retail targeting mass-market fashion consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Apparel Retail

NAICS

Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (458110), Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers (458)

SIC

Retail-Family Clothing Stores (5651), Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Kids’ & Baby Apparel Retail (CRAAABAD)

Keywords

• Apparel retail
• Fashion retail
• Department stores
• Kids clothing
• Omnichannel retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Durban

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales - Physical Stores: Traditional brick-and-mortar retail sales through Edgars (135 stores across 5 countries) and Keedo (12 stores in South Africa) locations. Product categories include Ladies', Men's and Kids Apparel, Footwear, Accessories & Beauty for Edgars, and functional fashionable designer clothes for kids for Keedo.
2. E-commerce/Online Sales: Online shopping platform including Boardmans Online Shopping, Edgars online store, and Keedo e-commerce site. Supports omnichannel customer experience.
3. BNPL Payment Processing: Integration of Buy Now Pay Later payment methods through PayJustNow, which has grown to account for nearly 10% of Edgars' sales mix in 2026 with 40% CAGR over three years.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Retailability Proprietary Limited is a South African apparel retail chain operating two consumer brands: Edgars and Keedo. The company sells ladies', men's and kids apparel, footwear, accessories, and beauty products through a network of 135+ physical stores across five Southern African countries, complemented by an e-commerce channel.

Product overview

Retailability is a South African retail group operating a multi-brand portfolio centered on Edgars, its flagship department store chain, and Keedo, its children's apparel brand. Founded in 1984, the company has grown to over 135 stores across Southern Africa. Edgars serves as the core platform offering broad apparel and accessories categories, while Keedo provides a specialized kids' fashion offering. The company previously included brands such as LEGiT, Style, Boardmans, and Swagga, which were divested to Pepkor in 2025 following Competition Tribunal approval.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Edgars: Ladies', Men's and Kids Apparel, Footwear, Accessories & Beauty - 135 stores across 5 countries
• Keedo

Quantifiable outcome

• BNPL (PayJustNow) has grown to account for nearly 10% of Edgars' sales mix in 2026, with 40% compound annual growth over the past three years

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and major divestment.

• PayJustNowcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026PayJustNow is a BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) provider integrated into Retailability's Edgars stores. The partnership enables customers to use installment payment options, with BNPL growing to account for nearly 10% of Edgars' sales mix in 2026 and delivering 40% CAGR over three years. PayJustNow reports over 4 million registered users and is expanding beyond traditional retail.
• Pepkormajor divestmentOthers · 1 January 2025Pepkor acquired Retailability's clothing brands including Legit, Style, Boardmans and Swagga. The Competition Tribunal approved this acquisition in 2025, adding hundreds of stores across several African countries to Pepkor's network. This represents a significant restructuring of Retailability's portfolio.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Truworths International: Leading South African fashion apparel retailer operating credit-led department and specialty stores (Truworths, Identity, YDE) across Southern Africa. Directly comparable mass-to-mid-market apparel focus, multi-brand portfolio, and Southern African footprint.
• Mr Price Group: South African value fashion, home and sporting goods retailer with Mr Price Apparel, Miladys and Mr Price Sport. Comparable mid-market apparel retail proposition and Southern African footprint.
• The Foschini Group (TFG): Major South African apparel, footwear and accessories retailer with brands including Foschini, Markhams, Sportscene, Totalsports and American Swiss. Closely comparable multi-brand mass-market apparel retail model in Southern Africa.
• Pepkor Holdings: Mass-market apparel and footwear retailer (Pep, Ackermans, Dunns, Tekkie Town) and acquirer of Retailability's Legit, Style, Boardmans and Swagga in 2025. Direct mass-market apparel competitor and now a stronger consolidated rival in Southern Africa.
• Woolworths Holdings South Africa: Mid-market South African retailer with a substantial apparel, footwear and accessories business alongside food. Comparable multi-category fashion retail footprint and target customer overlap with Edgars.

Broad incumbents

• Clicks Group: South African retail conglomerate dominated by health and beauty retail (Clicks, The Body Shop). Comparable scale and broad Southern African retail footprint; overlapped partially through Edgars' beauty category.
• Shoprite Holdings: Largest South African food and general merchandise retailer with fashion-adjacent offerings. Comparable regional scale across SADC markets and broad-line retail footprint.
• Massmart Holdings: South African general merchandise and food retailer (Game, Makro, Builders Warehouse, DionWired). Comparable broad-line retail footprint and discount positioning across Southern Africa.
• Pick n Pay Holdings: South African food and general merchandise retailer with growing fashion and general-merchandise exposure. Comparable broad-line Southern African retail footprint targeting mass-market consumers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Retailability Proprietary