The first Edgars store was opened on 6 September 1929 in Joubert Street, Johannesburg by Eli Ross.
It was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1949 and opened its first stores outside of South Africa in Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland in 1966-69.
Since then, the company has grown to ten retail brands trading in (as of 2014) over 1400 stores in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
In 1982 the company, still known as Edgars, was acquired by South African Breweries. It launched its Red Square retail chain in 1996 and acquired the struggling stationary retailer CNA in 2002 for R130 million.
The company acquired the houseware retailer Boardmans in 2004 for R94 million.
Edcon Financial Services provides credit facilities and financial services products to the Group’s over 4 million cardholders. In November 2015, according to reports, Edcon Limited referred to the National Consumer Tribunal.
In October 2017, it was reported that Edcon rewarded its customers with a revitalised ”thank U” customer reward programme.
Bain Capital concluded a private equity deal that delisted the group from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2007.
In early 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company ceased to pay rents for its retail locations while the resultant lockdowns in South Africa prevented businesses from operating.
In mid-2020, Edcon Holdings agreed to sell part of South African clothing chain Edgars to Retailability, a private equity-backed regional rival. This acquisition safeguarded the brand’s 91-year-old history and also saved thousands of jobs.
BOARDMANS
In June 2022, Relatabilty re-launched home and decor brand, Boardmans, with an online-only storefront.
Boardmans used to be a standalone store brand within the former Edcon group of stores, and was closed in 2018 as part of the group’s contentious turnaround plan.
BACK TO PROFITABILITY
In late 2022, Relatabilty announced that Edgars is back in the black with a successful business turnaround and operations that are swinging back to profitability.
“We’ve seen a significant swing from a rather substantial loss-making operation to a profitable operation over the last financial year-ending. We are very happy with the progress and are well on track with our internal targets,” its CEO said.
