Edcon, the country's largest apparel retailer by store footprint, has deepened investments in its discount division as bargain-hunting consumers find more appeal in aggressively priced retailers. Edcon's discount division, which consists of Jet and Jet Mart, is the group's second-largest contributor to revenue with its 522 stores. As Edcon rights the wrongs of the past, it has undertaken strategic initiatives at its discount division to attract more customers. This strategy means consumers can now also buy TV sets and white goods such as microwaves and washing machines, putting the brands in direct competition with Massmart's Makro, Dion Wired and Game stores. According to research by Euromonitor, Massmart held the leading position among mixed retailers last year with a 33% value share, attributed to its "aggressive low-price strategy". Alec Abraham, a senior retail analyst at Sasfin Securities, said there was an impression that while Edcon had scaled back on Boardmans and was incor...
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