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Business Times reports that Edcon, the owner of Edgars, has secured a deal with its landlords, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and banks that will inject R2.7bn into the business.
The deal announced on Friday will see new shareholders investing R2.7bn in SA's largest nonfood retailer. This includes the PIC, on behalf of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). Edcon employs 40,000 people. Edcon CEO Grant Pattison said the funds were sufficient to ensure the group could survive losses for the next two to three years, during which the plan was to return it to profit, while cutting store space by at least a third. Etienne Vlok of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu), observed: "Edcon more than any other retailer buys locally made products. If they were to close there would be a disproportionate impact on local clothing manufacturers and the people employed there." Morné Wilken of Hyprop, which has 9.4% of its gross lettable area rented to Edcon brands, said: "Edcon plays a large role in our country. If it did fail, there would be effects across the economy, especially the loss of jobs."
- Read the original of the report by Adele Shevel and Alistair Anderson at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page