There are two games in town at the moment when it comes to South Africa’s clothing retailers: the ability to trade during load-shedding, and the appetite to lend. And those businesses that can do both are faring far better.

It’s clear from recent trading updates that cash sale growth has become anaemic, whereas credit sales have been rising. Whether it’s prudent to grant credit in this environment is another issue and if not properly managed it could lead to high default rates in time, but it is clearly enabling sales...

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