COMPANY COMMENT
Will a lifeline to Edcon be too little, too late?
Even with a two-year runway, the issues Edcon has to tackle are daunting
Though details are still sketchy, it looks likely that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC ) will provide troubled clothing retailer Edcon with as much as R3bn in funding. If the deal goes ahead, it would be the second bailout Edcon has negotiated since delisting in 2007, and there’s a view that even if it gets the money, it is just postponing its inevitable demise. It does have some time to prove its detractors wrong. Edcon CEO Grant Pattison is on record saying that a possible deal could support it for about two years. But even with a two-year runway, the issues Edcon has to tackle are daunting. It has to come up with an effective online sales strategy, provide a range of products better suited to cash strapped consumers, and also face off against international competitors such as H&M and Zara. In a nutshell, Edcon is struggling because consumers don’t want to spend money at its stores and now have a lot more options to choose from when buying clothes. Edcon, however, is not th...
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