LOJAF BUYS PICK N PAY EZULWINI, RIVERSTONE

MBABANE - Lojaf (Pty) Limited has acquired the assets of Hammond Brothers (Pty) Limited and Hammond Family (Pty) Limited which operate the Pick n Pay stores trading at The Gables and Riverstone, respectively.

This was revealed by African Alliance Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nelsiwe Mabuza and Pick’n Pay General Manager (GM) Mario Fernandes last Friday. Mabuza explained that Lojaf would own and operate the two stores as Pick n Pay’s under a franchise agreement with Pick n Pay Corporate with effect from today. Lojaf currently owns five franchise Pick n Pay stores in Eswatini. These are Mbabane (The Mall), Mashayitafula (Matsapha), Mahhala (Matsapha), The Hub (Manzini) and Nhlangano. “We are proud to announce the expansion of Lojaf, which has also been approved by the Competition Commission,” said Mabuza.

Eswatini Competition Commission Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) William Sukati confirmed that the transaction had been approved by the commission. “The transaction has been approved on condition that suppliers will not be cut off unjustly. Should there be a need for substitution of a supplier, an application would have to be forwaded to the commission for approval,” said Sukati. Fernandes promised customers continued quality service at high standards. “We will continue to provide fresh and quality goods to all our customers,” said Fernandes. It was also pointed out that Lojaf had ambitions to grow its retail footprint even further.

Mabuza said the acquisition of The Gables and Riverstone Pick n Pay stores was part of this growth strategy. When asked what the total value of the transaction was, Mabuza said this could not be disclosed due to confidentiality.  In terms of how employees could be affected by the transaction, both at Ezulwini and Manzini, Mabuza mentioned that all negotiations of employment would be between staff and employer. It should be mentioned that the intent to sell the businesses to Lojaf was also recently disclosed in a notice of sale issued by Currie Wright and Associates, which was dated August 28, 2019. Mabuza previously said while the economy has its challenges, the Lojaf Board and shareholders remained positive about the kingdom and the retail sector as a very defensive stock.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: