Pepkor welcomes Mr Tekkie ruling, but Tekkie Town will go to ConCourt

Pepkor, formerly Steinhoff Africa Retail (Star), has welcomed a court decision barring Mr Tekkie from selling certain footwear stocked by Tekkie Town.

The previous owners of Tekkie Town established Mr Tekkie in the wake of Steinhoff’s accounting scandal, but Pepkor obtained an urgent interdict from the Western Cape High Court in 2018 for a restraint of trade, an order that was taken on appeal by the previous owners and management of Tekkie Town.

The decision the Western Cape High Court that a specified range of footwear should be removed from the shelves of Mr Tekkie stores was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday, said Pepkor. This affects stock sold before October 2016.

“The Pepkor group will continue to protect its rights and interests and is confident that the legal process and system will continue to deliver justice,” the group said in a statement.

Former Tekkie Town CEO Bernard Mostert said on Thursday​ that the company would appeal to the Constitutional Court, and that Pepkor had failed to put a list before the courts specifying the range of footwear that should be removed from shelves.

“Pepkor's efforts here seem to be focused on creating a false impression that a court-sanctioned list actually exists,” said Mostert. “It is regrettable that a public company would do so when they are well aware that their attempt to have a list added at a later date was dismissed by the Western Cape High Court.” 

In 2016, Steinhoff bought control of Tekkie Town in exchange for Steinhoff shares. The shoe retail chain was then transferred to Star, which has subsequently been renamed Pepkor, ahead of its listing in September 2017.

The shares received for the shoe business became almost worthless when the Steinhoff share price plummeted in December 2017, following the disclosure of accounting irregularities.

Update: July 2 2020
This article has been updated with additional comment and information.

gernetzkyk@businesslive.co.za