Retail giant Pepkor is rapidly expanding beyond its traditional discount retail roots, with its smartphone rental and fintech operations emerging as key growth drivers.
Through its device rental offering, the group is tapping into rising demand for affordable access to smartphones among cash-strapped consumers.
The company has also significantly scaled up its fintech business, which now spans digital payments, lending, insurance and financial services aimed at underserved consumers.
Building on this momentum, the company is preparing to launch a digital bank, positioning itself to compete more aggressively in South Africa’s evolving financial services landscape and to unlock new revenue streams through its vast customer base and retail footprint.
This emerged yesterday when the JSE-listed Pepkor Holdings reported a 13.2% increase in group revenue to R54.8 billion and 12.1% growth in normalised headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended 31 March, delivered off a strong prior-year base that increased by 19.2%.
